Obito's Dream
by daasia
Summary: Tobito x Rin. After years of living a lonely second life, destiny has caused Rin to meet a man named Tobi from a group called Akatsuki. After deciding to carry on the dream of peace that her fallen teammate once had, and learning the Akatsuki's goal of infinite world peace, Rin decides to join the group. Partnered up with Tobi, Rin begins to learn the truth about Akatsuki's dream.
1. Chapter 1

(Cover image by Dafne0292 at zerochan).  
  
Before reading please note: This is my first time writing something and submitting it for others to read. I am both excited and nervous. Please be aware for this chapter and future chapters that _**bold and italicized**_is a character remembering a specific sentence someone else said in the past. For this entire story I tried my very best to keep it synchronized with the actual storyline of Naruto, but there are some parts that may not perfectly match up to it. I apologize for that. ALSO: Because I don't have a complete grasp on the "-sama" and other titles, I will be using them very little.

I will be posting chapter two within the next 2-3 days (I have it typed up, I am just unable to post it today). Well I guess that's it. On to the story! I hope you enjoy it, and if you do please leave a comment! 

O n e :

"That's it!" the exhausted medical assistant yelled, "I'm taking a break!"

"Fine!" her boss snapped back, "but you better have every one of these tools sterilized and shining by the next half hour!"

The medical assistant was ripping her long rubber gloves off and tossing them on the floor as he called to her.

"Mika?! Mika, did you hear me?! ...Mika?!"

Mika ripped her medical mask and hair net off, threw them down, then stormed out the door. Outside was hot, and though the sun beamed down mercilessly Mika was grateful to be out in the fresh air. Well, about as fresh as the air in The Village Hidden in the Sand gets. She was used to it now, a far cry from when she arrived years ago as a young teen.

In a fast paced strut, she was walking without direction, allowing herself to calm down. _The nerve of that guy!_ she thought, _Loafing around doing nothing all day! Making me do all the dirty work! 'Mika, scrub the toilets!' _she mocked mentally, _'Make sure its all properly sterilized! Clean the floors! You missed a spot!' _

Always having her mop, and sweep, and spray, and scrub! Mika understood the importance of sterility in a medical environment, but two things made her angry. One: she did all the work while her boss sat all day nagging her. Two: Would it kill him to hire and pay another assistant? Mika worked at a citizen's urgent care, a place for non-battle related injuries and illnesses, but ones not bad enough for a hospital. Though most of the patients they saw weren't fatally injured or terminally sick, it was still a lot of patients for one person to take care of.

Mika paused her thoughts for a moment to scan the area. She had walked herself to the older part of the village that was filled with abandon and half demolished buildings. She sighed, leaning back against the stone pillar as she slipped into a sitting position.  
Watching particles of sand dance in the breeze, she began to finally calm down.

_ I guess I should be happy that I can at least be a medic still,_ she thought, _It's the only thing left of the old me..._

"Senpai, what are we doing here?" Mika heard a whining voice behind her, "It's so hot! Can't we go already?"

Mika quietly peeked around the pillar. About 20 feet behind her were two men, both in black and red cloaks. One man had a long ponytail of blond hair and long bangs covering half of his face. The other man wore an orange mask covering his entire face with exception of the black hole over his right eye.

"I already told you!" the blond one snapped, "We are here to confirm that this new Kazekage is the Jinjūriki of Shukaku!"

"Ehh..." the masked man replied, scratching his head nervously, "Jin-whaty?"

Blondie was clearly irritated. Very slowly he explained, "Jinjūriki, meaning he has a tailed beast sealed inside him. We need to confirm Shukaku is sealed in him so that when we extract the beast from him, we know we have the right guy!"

"Ohhh!" the masked man acted like he understood.

"Besides," Blondie smiled dryly, "If you're so hot, why not take your mask off? Get some fresh air?"

The other reached for his orange mask, then paused.

"Oh, ho, ho!" he laughed cheerfully, "Nice try Senpai, you almost got me!"

"Tch!" Blondie clenched his teeth and rolled his eyes.

_ Extract the beast from the Kazekage?_ Mika thought, _I have to warn him immediately!_

Suddenly, Mika felt a tickling sensation on her hand. She looked down to find a brown scorpion climbing up her wrist. Involuntarily, a loud scream from deep in her lungs gave away her hiding spot. She swung her hand around, freeing it from the poisonous arachnoid.

The two men appeared instantly, both looking down at her. The blond one knelt down to her level, his face just inches from hers.

"What a pretty face," he said, "It's too bad we'll have to kill you now."

Mika's eyes grew wide. There was no way she could try to fight them. Well, maybe the goofy masked one (he didn't seem so much of a threat), but not the blond one. As a child she'd only learned basic fighting tactics from the Ninja Academy.

But that was a long time ago; a whole different life, a whole different person.

She couldn't run, either. They were obviously much faster than her.

Suddenly, her racing heart began to calm.

_ What did I have to live for, anyways?_ Mika thought. For years she lived alone, in a village that wasn't her home village. Ripped away from her family. Forced to abandon becoming a ninja. Forced to abandon everything. Being dead didn't sound so bad. At least then she could be with _him_.

"Senpai," the masked man spoke up, "Maybe we should ask Pain first...?"

The blond man stood up, asking why.

"I don't know..." he scratched his head, thinking of an answer, "…We were told not to attract any attention. Won't killing her attract attention?"

"Well if you hadn't opened your big mouth in front of her!"

"But Senpai! You were the one explaining the plan, not me!"

"You cause me to explain things to you again and again!"

"If you're the one explaining again and again, doesn't that make you the one with the big mouth?"

"Why, you! I'm going to kill you first!" Blondie grabbed the masked man at his neck with one hand, and clenched his other fist in his face.

Mika attempted to slowly slip away.

"Oh no you don't!" Blondie yelled, throwing her back on the ground.

He thought for a moment. If they killed her right now they would surely attract attention. If they let her go, she would run to the Kazekage. If they snatched her and killed her far off, someone would notice after a couple days that she was missing, right? Investigations would be made, and right now Akatsuki didn't need some lame village police trailing their asses. Blondie didn't want to make the wrong decision.

"Fine." he answered, "We'll take her to Pain and have him decide. Grab her before she tries to escape."

"What?! Me?!" whined the masked man.

"Now, you idiot!" the blond one yelled.

The masked man easily picked her up with one arm, and swung her over his shoulder.

"Hey!" Mika cried out.

"Shut up!" Blondie snapped back, reaching into his satchel. He pulled out a handful of white clay, and the palm of his hand opened like a mouth and began to eat it.

Mika's eyes grew with confusion. _Did his hand just eat that?!_

"Behold!" he cheered, "Art!"

His hand spat out a living bird that grew enormous. The two men climbed onto the bird, the masked man still holding Mika tightly.

-x-

"Is there a reason you haven't put her down yet?" Blondie asked minutes after their departure.

"Oh!" the masked man was caught off guard by the question, "I wanted to make sure she didn't get away!"

Mika abruptly dropped onto the bird's back.

"'Get away'?" the other bickered, "Where would she get away to? We're thousands of feet above the ground!"

"Where are you taking me?" Mika asked looking up at their backs.

No answer.

She leaned over to the bird's side, peeking at the ground way below them. Blondie wasn't lying; they were thousands of feet above nothing but hills of sand. Defeated, Mika did the only thing left that she could do: sit and wait.

The ride was quiet, and hours passed. Mika found herself staring at the purple and orange sky as the sun was finally setting. By this time they were flying over an endless sea of pine trees, far from The Village Hidden in the Sand.

"Why are you so quiet?" the blond one finally broke the silence.

_ Me?_ Mika thought, _Should I be screaming for help? Even now?_

But she was mistaken. He was talking to the masked man, whom had now seemed to be snapping out of deep thought.

"Oh, Senpai! I'm just so tired!" he answered, "You dragged me all the way to the desert just to drag me all the way back! And we haven't even confirmed the Jinjerky!"

"Jinjūriki! And that's your fault! You're welcome to walk back!"

"I'm so hungry," he replied rubbing his stomach, "Can we stop some where to eat? Pleeease? Pleeeeeeeease?" He began jumping up and down.  
Blondie rolled his eyes and they began to descend.

The two got food from a stand near the dirt road, and now all 3 of them sat on the ground surrounded by trees.

"Senpai! You didn't get our guest any food!" the masked man exclaimed.

"'Guest'?!" he snapped back, "Why would I use my money to feed her when we both know tomorrow Pain will order us to kill her?!"

_ Don't be scared,_ Mika told herself, _Don't show them fear!_

She sat quietly as Blondie continued to eat, and the masked man continued to bug Blondie with his absurd behavior. When the blond one was done he stood up and said, "I'm going to sleep. Keep an eye on her."

The masked man burst into laughter, "Oh, I get it! Keep an 'eye' on her!" and he pointed to the black hole hovering over where his right eye should be.

Blondie growled and walked away, into the trees.

Mika looked up to the sky, which had grown darker as the sun was just about gone. From the corner of her eye she noticed something.

It was the masked man's plate of food; he was offering it to her. The food looked okay, but she was more intrigued by the hand that held the plate. She realized that even his hands were covered in black; hiding in black leather gloves that reached to his wrists where the long sleeves of his black cloak began.

"Eat! Eat!" he offered cheerfully.

"Knowing you'll kill me tomorrow doesn't exactly give me an appetite." she responded.

"Fine!" he said, "More for me!"

Soon the sun was gone, and all around them was darkness. Mika was still awake, and she knew he was too. He was sitting a couple feet in front of her and she could just feel him watching her. During the day he had seemed so goofy and harmless, he wasn't scary in the least bit. But now, in the dark, she could only see his mask reflecting the moonlight. Mika felt a stare pouring through that black hole aimed at her. He was quiet for so long. How long has it been since he's even moved an inch? He was like a statue now. Though Mika wasn't looking up at him, she could feel whatever was behind that black hole staring, burning at her.

"What is your name?"

Mika looked up quickly. Surely that wasn't him who asked. His voice was high pitched and silly, but this new voice was deep and serious.

"What is your name?" the masked man asked again.

She was quiet for a moment then answered lowly, "...Mika."

In a flash the masked man was inches in front of her. He grabbed the collar of her blouse with both hands and lifted her terrified face close to his. She never realized how tall he was until now, her feet helplessly dangling above the grass. Mika could do nothing but tremble and stare back into the black hole that was mere inches from her eyes.

Suddenly, in the black hole, a red eye peeled open. Mika's chest caved in as any bravery left lingering in her immediately dissipated. The eye was bright and glowing in the darkness that surrounded them. It was an eye like nothing she had seen before. It was the eye of a demon. Without a single blink, it wasn't staring at her, but staring into her. Mika hung limp, lost in the fear that had so quickly paralyzed her. She was trapped, staring back into the merciless glare.

"Do not lie to me," his voice demanded as he clutched her tighter, "Your life depends on it."

Still paralyzed, Mika struggled to open her mouth. When she did, it trembled open for a moment with no words coming out. Finally, she forced the words...

"...Rin...my real name...is Rin..."

The masked man stared a moment longer before slowly setting her back down. Rin stared at the ground, body still shaking. She didn't want to look back up and risk seeing him. Even if he was feet away from her now, her eyes were glued to the ground.

When the men had first found Rin she wasn't that afraid of death. She lived a life of lies, and was too depressed to ever get too close to anyone. She had no family. No friends. For her safety, she even had to change her name. All of her happiness came from memories of the girl she used to be.

But things were different now. Death by this man's hand only brought Rin fear. The quake in his voice. The death in his eye. Like a switch, Rin's instinct had turned back on. The instinct to fight death. The will to live.

Quietly, and slowly, she laid down and closed her eyes. Rin attempted to rest; she knew she'd need the energy tomorrow. Tomorrow, when she'd do everything she could to escape the masked man.


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter is really short so I'll be posting Chapter 3 as soon as possible, maybe even tonight! :)

T w o :

It was dawn when Rin awoke. She sat up immediately expecting the masked man to still be there, but she saw no one. Had they let her go?

**_"Your life depends on it." _**The words echoed in her head. What had that even meant? Had they taken her, mistaking her for someone else, but let her go knowing she wasn't who they thought? This had to be it! She was free again! She was safe.

"We'll be leaving shortly." Blondie's voice called, tearing her back into reality. She turned around, seeing him alone in the distance preparing another clay bird.

"I have to pee." Rin told him.

"Well hold it."

"I can't. I've been holding it since we first left. It's an _emergency_." She dramatized the urgency in her voice.

He sighed, "Hurry up."

Rin turned around and began to walk away.

"You think I'm stupid enough to just let you walk away?!" He stopped her. "Go. Right there."

She walked over to the bush he was pointing at. "A little privacy, please?"

He didn't budge.

Rin crouched down as much as she could, attempting to keep herself hidden. How was she going to sneak past him with him just a couple yards away? He was on the other side of the bush, but surely he'd see her trying to leave.

_It was a decent attempt, _she thought to herself, _but it just won't work...unless maybe..._

"Hey!" Blondie called, "Lets go. We're leaving."

"One moment please!" she nervously called back.

"No, now!" he made his way towards her.

"Alright alright!" she said, popping out of the bush.

They walked back to the bird, and the masked man was there waiting for them.

"Oh, there's Senpai," he thought aloud in his usual silly voice, "Emerging from the trees with our guest. Perhaps after spending some _alone_ _time_ with her?"

"Tch. Shut up!" Blondie growled, "I was just keeping an eye on her while she peed."

"Senpai! You were watching her pee?! You naughty boy." The masked man wiggled his finger in distaste.

"Idiot! As if I'd want to see that much of _her_!"

"But yesterday you said she had a pretty face."

"Anything is pretty when I have to look at you all day." he spat.

"But you don't look at me, you look at my mask..."

"Shut up before I blow you to pieces!"

The masked man quickly backed off, laughing nervously.

The three of them departed back into the sky and he two men continued to squabble. It went back and fourth, the masked man goofing off and the blond one losing patience and yelling back. About five minutes of this passed, until Rin began to tremble. Both men took notice as her trembles became more violent. She had her arms crossed, holding her sides tightly, as if she'd fall apart if she let go.

"No..." she said through her clenched teeth. _I...can't...hold this...any...longer... _

_Poof!_There was a cloud of smoke, and Rin was gone. The men stared, bewildered, at the vacant space Rin was just sitting in.

"A shadow clone!" Blondie yelled, and it echoed through the cliffs. The giant bird made a sharp turn around, and flew as fast as it could heading back.

-x-

Shades of green and brown flashed through Rin's sight as she frantically ran through the thick forest. Branches nicked her all over her body, but the adrenaline surging in her had her flying through without a notice. How long had she been running now? Ten, fifteen minutes? Her lungs painfully pumped in her chest. With every breath she was gasping for air. Rin's feet kept going strong, but her racing heart was desperately trying to keep up. She grabbed the throbbing in her chest. The wound from her past hadn't hurt like this since the day she received it. The Raikiri had barely missed her heart that day.

**_"Please...take care of Rin..." _**

The memories were playing in her head. A young Rin sat, surrounded by debris and rocks. In front of her was a large boulder, and underneath it lay her crushed teammate. The right half of his body was under rock, with the other half wedged out.

"Obito!" She cried out, taking his available hand into hers. Blood slowly spread out from beneath him.

His left eye looked out to Kakashi, their other teammate, who had been feet away in shock. "Please...take care of Rin...", he had managed to say before death.

And Kakashi accepted, that is, before his Raikiri pierced through Rin's chest.

Rin winced at the memory of Obito's dying face; dripping blood, losing life. Tears burned in her eyes, blurring her vision and causing her to trip. She slammed face down onto the ground with a thump.

"Where are you?!" she heard Blondie's voice yell from afar.

She looked up and saw dozens of tiny clay birds flying above the trees, searching for her. She stumbled to her feet and began running again. Her lungs begged for a longer rest as she continued pushing herself through the dense grove.

"Oh, I _love_ this game!" a familiar vivacious voice called from behind her, "So much excitement this is!"

Rin's head shot back. _Where is he?!_ She didn't see him, only heard him as she kept pushing forth.

"Where _are_ you?" the masked man sang, his voice getting closer.

_Is he mad?!_ Rin questioned his sanity. Last night he had terrified her, threatened her life, and now he was all jolly and innocent again?

She turned her head back once more, as she ran, but still did not see him. It was then that she felt her foot catch onto something. She looked back in front of her just in time to see herself falling again onto the ground again. This time the fall was longer. As she rolled down a hill, rocks beat into her, roots and branches scathed her body. Then finally, into the river, she landed.

Rin burst to the surface gasping for air. The fast current fought her, threatening to drag her back down. She looked for anything to grab onto, but was soon back under. The darkness of the green water surrounded her. Again and again she reached out to the rocks, but every time they slipped through her grasp. The current threw her head in and out of the water, allowing her quick sips of air.

_Obito, _her heart cried out as she was dragged back down, _I'm so sorry. You died from saving me, and instead of being thankful and living for you, I welcomed death and let these men capture me._

Her hands reached for the surface but she felt herself sinking deeper. Her legs and arms became weak under the heavy water, and would no longer respond to her attempts.

_I've let you die in vain._

Defeated, her lungs gave in, forcing her to draw in a breath of water.

_I'm so sorry, Obito. _


	3. Chapter 3

Just a note: The chapter after this one is really long, but I am very excited to post it. It should be up in about 4-5 days. But for now I hope you enjoy chapter three! :)

Three:

"Senpai, you aren't still mad at me, are you?" The masked man asked. The three of them were flying back to headquarters. "I was just playing. Lets be friends again!"

No response.

"Deidara! C'mon-" the masked man said.

"Shut up, idiot!" Deidara snapped, "Now she knows my name!"

The two men turned around to see if Rin had been listening, but she was far too focused on something else. She was holding her sides tightly, and trembling.

"What's wrong with you?" Deidara asked.

Rin still wasn't listening. Deidara lost interest, but the masked man kept watching her.

"No..." she mumbled.

The men focused on her again. _Poof!_ A cloud of smoke, and Rin was gone.

_When did she create a clone?! _The masked man thought.

_She...she's...gone?! _Deidara thought, in complete shock. "A shadow clone!" he yelled.

"I'll search on foot," the masked man said as they turned around, "You should search from up here." He jumped off the bird and into the sea of trees.

The masked man hurried knowing he'd have to find Rin before Deidara did. He went soaring from tree to tree. His red eye glowed as his Sharingan increased his accuracy. With it, he was able to search for her while moving at such a great speed.

_If Deidara finds her first_, he thought,…_he'll surely kill her!_

It was a miracle that he was even able to convince Deidara to keep her alive in the first place. But this. How was he going to fix this? He knew Deidara was fed up with dragging her along, hell, Deidara didn't even want to drag him along. Now not only did he have 2 people in his company, but one has brought him the trouble of escaping.

_ There!_

The masked man could barely see Rin far off. She was moving fast, but not as fast as him.

"Where are you?!" Deidara's voiced roared from the sky.

Fortunately, the masked man looked up and saw him and his birds moving away from Rin. Rin had stopped for a moment, but was on the move again. She was gradually slowing down though, and soon he'd catch up to her.

"Oh, I _love_ this game!" he cheered, "So much excitement this is!"

_Would you stop acting like such a moron! This is serious! _He thought.

_Sorry! But this is much more fun than bugging Deidara!_

"Where _are_ you?" He sang.

_Dammit, what did I just say?! _

_Sorry, sorry!_

The masked man suddenly stopped. "Get out."

_I said I was sorry! I'll stop!_

"No. I want you to go distract Deidara anyways. Make sure he doesn't go near Rin."

There was whine as the artificial Zetsu separated from the masked man. His body, reforming, finished with the spiral of his face. He pouted for a moment, then began transforming into a replica of Rin.

"Well," the spiral Zetsu said, "I guess I'll go this way." He jumped off the tree, and started to run in the opposite direction.

The sound of water suddenly met the masked man's ears. Worried, he began running again.

_ Where did she go?!_

He followed the sound until he found himself at a river. He could see Rin, far down, getting tossed around by the current. Without a thought, without a doubt, he jumped into the river.

Her body was so light in the water. So still and lifeless. He pulled her out, and immediately laid Rin onto her back.

She was not breathing.

The man ripped his mask off, and began rounds of CPR. Rin laid there, unresponsive. He continued compressions, staring at her eyelids in hope for a flicker of life. She was still. He brought his mouth to hers and desperately breathed life back into her. Her lips were cold and pale. Keeping his mouth by hers, he waited to feel her breath.

Nothing.

He went back to compressions. An all too familiar pain stabbed his heart at his looked at her lifeless body.

_This can't happen! _He thought, _I will not accept this!_

The compressions got faster.

_ I can't let her die._

The compressions got harder.

_ I can't let her die!_

A soft cracking noise caused him to remove his hands. He went to her mouth, and again breathed into her.

He pulled away as her unconscious body began coughing up water. He sat back, relieved, as he watched her chest rise and lower with life.

-x-

Gradually, the sound of her surroundings faded back to her. The crashing waters, the birds chirping. The sun blinded Rin as she opened her eyes.

_I'm alive_, she stated to herself as she watched the clouds. She turned her head to find the river a couple feet away, continuing its thrashing.

"So, you're awake now."

Rin quickly turned her head at the familiar voice.

The masked man was a couple feet away, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed.

"Good." He added, "We need to hurry."

Rin began to sit up, but stopped from the sudden pain in her top ribs.

"Careful!" He warned.

_Is there a fracture of some sort? _She thought looking at her ribs, _Did I hit something in the river? …No… _

Being a medic Rin knew that CPR was more successful if the ribs break from the sternum. She looked back up at the masked man. _Did he…save me? … But, why?_

Rin was thankful to be alive, but it made no sense that this man would save her. She heard classified information that she shouldn't had. They wanted her dead. Dead in a way that couldn't be traced back to them. This was the perfect opportunity for them. So why was she lying there alive?

"Who are you?" she asked quietly.

A silent moment passed, until the masked man finally answered.

"Tobi."

_Tobi_. She repeated in her head and looked back at her sternum. Rin held her right hand above the area, and her hand began to glow in green chakra.

"Medical Ninjutsu." Tobi said.

Rin was unsure if it was a question, or if he was stating it as a fact.

"After that shadow clone stunt I pulled earlier there's no point in hiding my ninja skills from you anymore." She replied as she began healing herself.

Tobi suddenly felt Deidara's chakra approaching.

"We need to leave now." He said. _Dammit! What happened to Spiral Zetsu? _Tobi immediately scooped up Rin and dashed into the trees.

Between the time Rin was unconscious and now, Tobi never really came up with a good plan. Really, only two outcomes were possible. Deidara would find them and demand they kill Rin. He'd say keeping her was too much trouble, and begin to question Tobi's continued attempts to keep her alive. He would no longer listen to Tobi's reasoning, and would forcefully try to kill her. At which Tobi's only choice then would be to kill Deidara.

Or, if Tobi could get to Nagato before Deidara found them, he could talk him into calling Deidara off. But still, what would he say to Nagato? How was he going to convince him?

Rin winced at the pain brought on by each step Tobi took.

_I can't go any faster without hurting her more_,he thought, _but Deidara's catching up quickly!_

He stopped on a branch, and set her down against the tree. Rin looked up at him in wonder.

"Sorry about this…" he said, making a hand sign, "…Kamui!"

Tobi's red eye opened again, but this time she felt a sensation of being pulled towards it.

_Is it sucking me in?! _ Rin realized, and began screaming until she disappeared.

A sense of guilt came over Tobi as he stood alone quietly. Never was that jutsu meant for her. He could feel his personality tearing in half as his two biggest desires bucked head to head. He was Tobi, _no_, he was the will of Uchiha Madara. He was the ultimate savior of this world, and he would let nothing get in that way!

_But Rin is alive._

_ That changes nothing! _He told himself. He would rid this world of pain and suffering, that was his dream. That was his destiny. From the day he realized this world was hell, he knew he'd help Madara create the perfect world. He'd save everyone from this hell.

_But Rin is alive._

"Tobi!" Deidara's voice tore him from his thoughts, "Have you seen her yet?"

He looked up at Deidara, who was still on his bird. In his best Spiral Zetsu impression, Tobi said, "No Senpai, I was hoping you had."

"I thought I heard screaming in this direction."

"I haven't heard anything."

"Tsh!" Deidara growled, "Damn shadow clone. I wasn't expecting her to know ninjutsu."

"Well I'll keep searching over here." Tobi replied.

Deidara was quiet for a moment. "…You're acting different." He said curiously.

"Am I?"

"Yes. You're acting less like an idiot."

"Oh, Senpai! It's just because I'm focused on finding her!"

Deidara let the matter go. He didn't have time for it. They needed to find this girl before she could get word out about the plan. "Whatever. But if you do find her Tobi," he said before taking off, "kill her."

-x-

Rin was surrounded by darkness. There was nothing around her. Nothing to stand on, nothing but endless black all around.

_Where am I?_

"…Tobi?" she called out. He didn't kill her, did he? _No, he wouldn't kill me after going through so much trouble to save me._

Tobi could hear Rin calling out to him.

"Sorry," he said though she couldn't hear him, "But I can get to Nagato much faster with you in there."

Truth be told he could get to Nagato at an instant with his transportation jutsu, but he can't bring others along in it. Since Rin was with him, he'd have to travel on foot.

Rin carefully sat down and began healing her ribs again.

_What have I gotten myself into? Captured by two lunatics, one of which is bi-polar and terrorizes me one night then saves my life the next day._

The use of her chakra was draining. Rin only knew basic medical ninjutsu, so fully healing herself would take a long time. It didn't help her situation that she hadn't used ninjutsu in years. Not since she left Konoha long ago. She was told then to never use it again, so her ninja skills never progressed.

She couldn't help but to think of these memories as she sat there in the dark. Going to the academy. Learning medical ninjutsu. Going on missions. Minato Sensei. Kakashi.

And of course, _Obito_.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I decided to just split chapter four into two chapters. So here is four, I'll be typing up five immediately! If you're enjoying the story, please leave a comment. Reading them really makes me happy, and it inspires me to post the next chapter faster. :) I also want to apologize about the previous chapters because the italicize button was not working too well. On my computer it was fine, but rereading it on my tablet the italicize was not working. So I am sorry if it was not working for you and if it made it more difficult to read. Hopefully this chapter will be fixed. Thank you to all my readers. :)

Four:

"I'll distract them! You keep running!"

Rin did as she was told and headed towards the forest. Right now they were out in the open, running through the mountains, but if they could just get to the woods they'd be able to hide better.

"Ahh!" Rin heard her teammate scream. She turned around to see the silver-haired boy holding a fresh wound to his shoulder.

"Kakashi!" she screamed.

"Go!" he yelled to her. He was fighting three mist ninja at once, as the other hundred were catching up. "I told him I'd always take care of you. Even if it means I die right here, I will protect you. Now go!"

Kakashi's hand began to spark up in blue screeching bolts.

"Raikiri!" he yelled and used the sparks to slice through the bodies of the three mist ninja.

Rin headed towards the forest again. _This is all because of me! _She thought, _Even if Kakashi does protect me here, how long will it be until they come after me? Until they come after the village? They'll destroy all of Konoha looking for me. How many innocent lives will be lost then, just for my sake? How many parents will lose their children? How many children will lose their parents? _

She stopped, turning back to look at Kakashi again. He was preparing another Raikiri for the on-coming mist ninja.

_No. _She thought reaching into her pocket, _I can end this right here._

_ Crap!_ Kakashi thought, _I only have enough chakra for one more attack, but I need to give Rin as much time as possible to get away! _

Another ninja caught up and began swinging his kunai at Kakashi. Kakashi dodged and counter-attacked with his Raikiri. The mist ninja also dodged, taking a big leap back.

"Oh no you don't!" Kakashi said and shot himself towards the enemy, Raikiri leading the way.

Kakashi felt his attack stab through a body, and he looked up at his victim. Terrified, he tried pulling his arm out as fast as possible. His arm didn't budge, and the sparks wouldn't calm. Rin's warm blood dripped from her chest and down Kakashi's arm. He stared at Rin, her face growing pale and losing life.

_Rin?! _He thought, _Why?! _

The wound in her chest shot blood up her mouth, and the red liquid poured out as she whispered, "…Ka...ka…shi…"

-x-

"What is it you want to talk about?" Nagato asked.

The stone room was dark and cold. The open windows allowed some rain and chilly morning air inside. It had taken Tobi all night on foot, but he had finally reached the Village Hidden in the Rain.

"I have someone I'm holding captive whom is vital to our plan." Tobi lied, "But I don't want to reveal their purpose to the other Akatsuki members until necessary."

"Who is it?" asked Konan, the purple-haired female of the Akasuki. She always stayed by Nagato's side to protect him, like a knight protects its powerful king, since he was the only one she had left to call family. Tobi already knew speaking to Nagato meant speaking to Konan as well.

"It's none of your concern," Tobi answered simply.

Obviously unsatisfied with the answer, Konan asked, "And what's this person's purpose to us?"

"Again, it's none of your concern."

"Tch!" she growled, "You can't just bring a stranger into this at a time like this! We are finally securing the preparations! Soon we'll be taking action and you want to just-"

"Konan." Nagato interrupted, "There's no reason to question Madara's motives."

Nagato turned to Tobi, "What did you need from me, Madara?"

"Hold a meeting immediately, let the other members know there will be two new additions. Deidara already knows me as Tobi. Pair him back with Sasori, and me with my hostage so I can keep an eye on them until the time comes." Nagato nodded.

-x-

"Tobi!" Deidara yelled when he appeared in the meeting spot, "Where have you been?!"

"Around." Tobi answered playfully, playing the role for Spiral Zetsu.

_Shit! _Deidara thought, _A sudden meeting like this. I hope no one has found out about that girl! Pain won't be happy at all about this!_

Pain stepped forward once all the members arrived. "As you may have noticed there is a new member among us. This is Tobi-"

"Hello!" Tobi cheered.

Pain continued, "…he and another new member are joining as of today. They will be assigned the smaller tasks until they have more experience."

"Wouldn't it be better to pair each of them up with one of us? Seeing as they're both new," asked Kisame.

"Tobi has been on a couple of mission with Deidara already. I assume he is prepared enough to be without him."

Pain looked down at Deidara, "Unless, of course, you feel he needs to stay partnered with you?"

"No!" Deidara answered a little too quickly, "I mean …he's shown so much growth the past month. I think he is capable of showing this new member our ways. I believe in him."

"Oh Senpai!" Tobi blushed, "You're too kind! I accept the position! But I will miss you and your artsy-fartsy clay!"

Deidara growled.

"I believe you, too, can grow in your skills as I have!" Tobi chimed.

"That's enough." Pain said, "Deidara, have you confirmed that the Kazekage is the host of the one-tail?"

"Yes." He lied. He was positive it was him anyways.

"Good." Pain replied, "Everyone get some rest these next couple of days. Deidara. Sasori. I assume you two can handle capturing the Kazekage?"

"Of course." Sasori answered.

"Three days from now," Pain said, "capture him. Everything will finally begin then."

-x-

"You know, Rin…" Obito said nervously as his teammate carefully bandaged a cut on his face, "You saving me is the same as you saving the world, you know…"

It was quiet and Obito's heart raced faster.

"Because I'm gonna be the Hokage and all," he continued, "and I'm gonna put an end to this war!"

Obito was looking down at his feet. This all made sense in his head, but he was so nervous telling Rin that it really wasn't coming out right.

"Well, you get where I'm going with this, right?" He asked.

Obito looked up at Rin, whose face was now close to his, smiling beautifully at him. He sheepishly looked away, forcing himself away from her big brown eyes.

"Yeah." Rin answered, "It's just all…a bit too surreal…"

"So…you know…" Obito continued, "If you don't stay by my side…and…like…watch over…"

The playing memory faded out, and Rin sat in the darkness continuing to heal herself.

**_"If you don't stay by my side…"_**

Obito's dying face haunted her again. Crushed. Bleeding. The guilt inside Rin deepened.

**_"And …like…watch over…"_**

"Hey." A voice startled Rin. The darkness around her had lightened slightly, showing her the endless rows of pillars. Tobi was standing on a pillar near her. He jumped over to the one she was on.

"How's your injury?" he asked.

"It will be completely healed soon," Rin answered, standing up, "But where am I? What did you do to me?"

"Kamui." He answered, "My space-time jutsu. This is a dimension I created. I put you here so you wouldn't get in the way."

"In the way of what?"

Tobi took a deep breath. How was he going to explain this?

"My leader has decided since freeing you is not an option, we are going to keep you."

"Keep me?" Rin asked, "Like a prisoner? Forever?! There's no way I'm staying in this dark dimension forever!"

He replied, "I have been assigned to watch over you and make sure you don't escape. I'll take you back to the other world, but you will wear this-" Tobi held out a black and red Akatsuki cloak, "-so no one suspects that I'm holding you against your will."

"But you will be holding me against my will." She replied, irritated.

Tobi didn't say anything.

"Well I'm not wearing that!" she said crossing her arms.

Tobi shrugged his shoulders. "Fine," he said, "Then stay here forever."

Rin wasn't happy about it at all. The cloak was heavier than it looked. The sleeves went well passed her hands, and the bottom of it was a sliver away from dragging on the ground.

"It's too big." She complanied, measuring the extra sleeve that engulfed her arms completely.

"It's my spare." Tobi replied.

_It's a spare that's too big_, she thought to herself. Rin unbuttoned the collar of it, allowing her face to remain uncovered.

At least she was back in the real world and now had a chance to escape again. Although, with this guy watching her all the time who knows how well that was going to happen. It would have to be a while before she could try, anyways. Her last escape nearly killed her, and left her with many minor injuries and some broken ribs. Also, the sudden use of her medical ninjutsu after years of absolutely no use had exhausted her.

They were walking in an industrial village, one Rin had never seen before, as the rain cried down on them. Assuming she was hungry, Tobi stopped at a food stall. The smell of food greeting Rin's face had reminded her how hungry she was.

_He's doing is again_, Rin thought after they had ordered, _Around that one blond guy he's loud and childish, but around me he's so silent. He hardly says a word…_

Rin remembered that first night.

**_"Do not lie to me,… your life depends on it."_**

Now this same man was sitting across from her. Quiet, and staring.

_Oh man! _She thought, _Last time he was this quiet… last time he just stared at me like this…_

The memory of that red eye glaring into her, the feeling she got thinking she would be murdered right then and there.

Suddenly, she felt his hand grab her shoulder.

A long high pitched scream tore through Rin's throat, but as she looked up to see Tobi just sitting there the tone of her scream diluted to a petty dumbfounded "ahh?" Tobi removed his hand.

_Does she think I'm that horrible? _Tobi thought.

People turned, facing Rin in concern. She laughed nervously, "Just kidding!" she told them.

"Rin." Tobi said.

She looked back at him.

"Is there anything at your home you'd like to collect," he asked, "before I take you to the Mountain's Graveyard?"

_Yes. My freedom. _She thought, but instead asked, "Mountains Graveyard?"

"It's where you will live from now on."

"It sounds very lovely," Rin replied sarcastically. "Yes. There are some things I'd like to get."

"We'll head back to the Sand Village first thing." He said.

The waitress came by and served their food.

_His mask! _Rin thought, watching Tobi carefully, _He has to remove it to eat!_

She watched intensely as Tobi grabbed some chopsticks. He scooted his plate closer to him.

_C'mon! _

Tobi turned away, removed his mask, and shoveled the food down his throat. He was done so quickly, and because he had turned she couldn't even get a glimpse of his face.

Rin let out a sigh, _Oh well._

Tobi waited as Rin began eating. _I can't show her my face_, he thought, _She can't ever see me. Not after what I have done, what I pursue… And not with this face…_

He could just imagine Rin's reaction to seeing what hid beneath his mask. She'd scream, maybe even cry at the mutilated tissue he called his face. He could never allow her to see his scars.

"Tobi." Rin said quietly, picking at her food, "… when I was in the river… it would had been a perfect opportunity for you…"

She paused and looked up at him, "Why did you save me?"

He thought for a moment, then decided to answer truthfully.

"When I realized you were underwater my body acted on its own. Without me thinking or considering anything, I just jumped in and grabbed you. I didn't want you to die."

_Well that's kind of sweet. _She thought, _…or creepy. _Rin was no fool. She knew she was a beautiful young woman, and she knew what awful things criminal men like him did to beautiful young women. _…Definitely creepy._

"So your leader," she asked, "and that one guy, …you're a part of a group? What group?"

"Akasuki." Tobi answered, "We are a group that strives for peace. In this world of pain and suffering, our goal is to create a world without violence, a world without war."

**_"I'm going to be Hokage and all…and I'm going to put an end to this war!" _**Obito's words rang in Rin's head.

_A world without war, huh? _Rin thought, _Tobi, I guess you aren't so bad after all._


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Alright! Chapter five up and ready! I'm really excited how the story is going now. Please leave a comment if you enjoyed it! It makes me very happy to read them. :)

Five:

It was night when they finally reached the Sand Village. To speed things up, Tobi would put Rin in his dimension when she grew tired, so he could keep going, and when she was rested she'd argue to come back out. They slipped by the guards and through the giant sand walls.

"Please don't try anything." Tobi whispered to Rin as they ran through the sleeping village. He didn't want to start a commotion, but he'd let nothing separate him from Rin now, and he really didn't want to kill anyone in front of her.

Rin lead the way as they snook around between buildings, dark alleyways, and passed the occasional wandering drunk. The area became poorer and poorer the farther she led.

_So this is where she's been. _Tobi thought as they stopped at a small shack-like apartment.

Rin reached above the door frame, grabbed a key, and the heavy wooden door creaked as she opened it. The apartment was dark and cold. In the desert the days were so hot, yet the nights were freezing. There were no signs of electricity or a heater. Rin light some candles to light up the room. Excluding the bathroom, the apartment was just one room. A kitchen-like area near the front door with a small fireplace, a single bed and open window right across the front door, and the bathroom to the right of it.

Rin grabbed a backpack from underneath her bed. She went to her dresser and began packing.

"How long have you lived here?" Tobi asked, closing the door.

"Many years." She answered without looking up at him. "I haven't moved because I can't afford to. My job at the citizen's urgent care doesn't pay much… No job here pays much. Not that there's a new Kazekage though, things are supposed to get better."

Rin grabbed a custom-made kunai off the window sill, packed it, and made her way to the bathroom to retrieve more items.

"'Citizen's urgent care'?" Tobi called out to her, "I didn't know shinobi could work in those kind of places."

The memory was coming back to her. When the medics had realized Rin was still clinging on to life despite Kakashi's Raikiri, Minato Sensei had taken her to the Sand Village almost immediately. He helped her recover, and when she was conscious again she asked him why they were no longer in the leaf village.

"I'm sorry," Minato Sensei had said, "But if you stay in Konoha, I fear Danzo will keep handing you back to the mist." He explained to her how Danzo would take drastic measures to keep the leaf village safe. Knowing the mist ninja would keep coming back for her and putting everyone in danger, Danzo would continue to find ways to give her to them. At least now the mist, Danzo, and almost everyone in the leaf village thought she was dead. They'd stop pursuing her, and she'd be safe again. Her safety meant a lot to Minato, he didn't want to lose another student.

Rin frowned at the thought of being all alone in this new village.

"Here." Minato Sensei said, pulling a custom-made kunai from his pocket, "If you keep this, I will be able to transport here. I will keep visiting you, Rin, I promise."

And he did. Rin placed the kunai on the window sill, and Minato would visit her weekly. She looked forward to his visits. It was the only time she was Rin again, and not this fake Mika. He would tell her how Kakashi was doing, how he exceled and became a part of the Anbu Black Ops. How much Kakashi missed her and Obito. He told her how he was nominated to become the Fourth Hokage, and though it meant he'd be even busier he promised to still find the time to visit her as usual. And he did. Time passed and he still showed up every week. Being Hokage didn't mean she could come back though, because Danzo was still there. But as long as Rin had Minato Sensei visiting and sharing his stories with her, everything was okay. One day he was very excited to tell her that he was going to be a father. When she found out he was expecting a boy and chose the name Naruto, Rin saved up to buy a nice blue baby blanket she had seen in a store and had it customized to say "Naruto" in silver thread.

Rin wrapped up the blanket, excitedly. Today was the day Minato Sensei would visit her again, and between his last visit and now Naruto was due. _He should be a couple days old today_, she thought, _Oh I hope Minato Sensei brings photos of him!_

Rin waited for Minato, but he never showed up that day. She brushed it off as him being too busy juggling being a Hokage and having a newborn to tend to. _When he has time he will visit_, she thought, _I just know it!_

But the days passed, and turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months. She found herself just watching the Kunai for hours a day, hoping he'd make his appearance. But he never came back to visit her again. One day at work, Rin had overheard two patients talking about the Fourth Hokage, and how the Leaf Village was still in turmoil from the latest attack, plus the death of the Hokage.

"Dead?!" She asked, barging into their conversation.

"Yea," one woman said, "Apparently he and his wife died protecting the village from the nine-tailed fox. It's a shame really, the whole village is falling apart now that so much is destroyed, and most of their army has been killed."  
"Not to mention they have no Hokage now," the other lady added, "Word is the Third Hokage is going to retake the position."

"But didn't he have a child?!" Rin cried.

"Who?" the first woman asked, "The Forth? I'm not sure really."

When Rin got home that day she unwrapped the blanket and held it close to her. Her imagination tortured her with images of Minato Sensei and his pregnant wife dying. The sandstorm outside had the wind pounding on her window. She opened it, and held the blanket out, allowing it to dance in the gusts. Rin choked on her tears with the thought of the last piece of her past dying away. She forced herself to let go of the blanket, and in the wind it flew up into the sky, up into the heavens, until she could see it no more.

Rin kept the Kunai on her window sill from then on. She knew he wasn't coming back, but seeing it reminded her daily of the instructions he had given her.

"To help keep you hidden," Minato Sensei had said to her that first day_, _"and to help keep you safe, you must never let anyone know you were a shinobi. Discontinue your practice, and never use your ninja skills again. Become a normal citizen, and no one will ever suspect you for anything else."

It was so hard to work at the urgent care and not use medical ninjutsu. Seeing patients in pain, sometimes even children, and only being able to give them medicine when she knew deep inside she could do so much more to help them. But she would see the Kunai every day, and remember his words, and how he desperately wanted her safe.

Rin walked out of the bathroom and to a small nightstand.

"I'm not a shinobi." Rin told Tobi as she packed.

"Sure seemed like it yesterday." He replied, referring to her little escape.

Tobi walked up to her. She was kneeling on the ground by her nightstand, staring at the object in her hands. Even with the candles, the room was still dim, and Tobi leaned in to get a closer look.

In her hands was a golden-framed photo. The photo had one adult- a blond shinobi, and 3 children posed below him. One of the children, a familiar face, a young Rin; another, Kakashi with a poor attitude as usual; and to the young Rin's right, a dark-haired Obito, smiling as usual.

"The old me was a shinobi," Rin replied softly as she stared at the smiling boy, "The old me died a long time ago."

They stared at the photo a moment longer until she stuffed it into the backpack. Rin stood up.

"Well I guess that's it." She said. She wasn't quite sure how to feel now. Wasn't she being abducted? Shouldn't she be afraid? She knew she was supposed to be, but she wasn't. Her life in the Sand Village was lonely. It wasn't her true home. And yeah, maybe Tobi was a little creepy and hard to read at times, but so far he has saved her life twice, and in the past 3 days she had been less lonely than she has for years. Tobi told her earlier that he dreamed for peace. How bad could he be?

"If you come any closer, I'll have to kill you." Tobi calmly said.

_Tobi?! _Rin thought, shocked. _Why would he say that?_

Tobi turned his head towards the window, looking in the distance.

"…Tobi…?" Rin whispered.

"But let's avoid the useless violence." He added, "We were just leaving anyways."

Rin turned towards the window but saw nothing suspicious.

They stood in silence for a moment, then finally a voice in the distance said, "I can't allow you to just leave. Judging by your appearance you must be Akatsuki."

"You catch on quickly," Tobi mocked, "But we will be leaving whether you allow it or not, Kazekage."

Rin could see the ginger teenager now, hiding in the shadows. His gourd was open, and his sand floated around him, ready to strike.

**_"We need to confirm Shukaku is sealed in him so that when we extract the beast from him, we know we have the right guy!"_**

****_That's right! _Rin remembered, _But why do they want Shukaku? They wouldn't harm the Kazekage for it, right?_

****Either way, this was Rin's chance to warn him! To let him know everything she knew!

Tobi stood anxious; Would the Kazekage attack them, or would Rin tell him about the plan?

_Rin_, Tobi thought, _Please don't say anything!_

"Kazekage-sama!" Rin called out.

"You." The young kage responded, recognizing her face, "You live here… You work at the citizen's urgent care… You're the one who's gone missing! He's holding you captive, isn't he?!"

_Tell him! _Rin told herself, _Tell him all about the Akatsuki's plan!_

"Kazekage-sama!" she called out again.

"What is it?!"

_Say it! _Rin screamed at herself, _Why aren't you saying anything?!_

_**"I'm gonna become Hokage and all,... and I'm gonna put an end to this war!"**_

**_ "We strive for peace… our goal is to create a world without violence, a world without war."_**

Tobi began preparing his Kamui. _It looks like I'm going to have to move her there before she can tell him._

_Obito. _Rin thought remembering his proud face, _Your dream was to bring peace to everyone. And you trusted me to stay by your side and heal you,... you trusted me to help you reach your dream._

"What is it?!" the Kazekage repeated.

_But I let you die! You counted on me, and I let you die! And I let your dream die as well._

Rin looked back up, strong-minded now, _Well not anymore! Even if it means I become a shinobi again, even if it costs me my life, I'll make sure your dream comes true!_

"I've joined the Akatsuki." Rin finally answered.

The three stood in silence as her words sank in.

"But,…why?!" he asked, shocked.

She ignored the question, "We are here only so that I may gather my belongings. Let us leave in peace, else we fight right here and endanger the villagers."

The Kazekage crossed his arms, "I'm sure I can handle one Akatsuki member, and his powerless girlfriend."

"Don't underestimate me." Rin warned, "I've kept my strength hidden for a reason. If you initiate this fight, know well that it will bring much unneeded destruction, and many innocent causalities."

_Rin…_ Tobi thought looking at his new teammate. She was no longer his frightened unsure captive that he had seen these past couple of days. Instead this reborn Rin stood with a fist out, determined, like she had so long ago.

"Not to mention," she added, "our other members are on standby, so you are heavily outnumbered."

The Kazekage thought for a moment, then said "Leave immediately." He _escorted_ the two Akatsuki members out of the village.

"You didn't have to do that, you know." Tobi said as they walked through the empty desert.

"Sorry!" Rin replied, scratching the back of her head, "Of course when I said 'else we fight right here' I meant you, not me! I'm a lover, not a fighter." She said referring to her healing abilities.

"Either way he bought it." Tobi said, "Besides, I already knew that you're weak."

"What?!" Rin snapped, "I'm not weak!"

Tobi chuckled.

Rin continued, "I'll have you know I am _very_ talented in medical ninjutsu!"

"What are you going to do? Heal the enemy?" he teased, "Or maybe you can deafen them with one of your high pitched screams you love to do so much."

"Why, you!" Rin growled.

"Okay, okay!" Tobi said, still chuckling, "I'll be the fighter, you be the healer."

"Fine!" Rin replied, determined with a fist out, "Then I will always stay by your side!"

The full moon was bright, lighting their way through the hills of sand.

Tobi said back, "…And I will always protect you."

-x-

"Tobi!" Rin called out, hours later. The wind had picked up, and a sandstorm was beginning to rage. He stopped, and turned to face her direction.

"I can't go anymore!" She said over the howling wind. It had been a while since she rested, and the heavy sand pulling at her feet with each step had taken its toll on her.

Tobi's eye began to glow red.

"No!" Rin said, breathing heavy, "I don't want to go there again! It's dark. And lonely. Can't we just sit for a while?"

They found a crevice in some cliffs around them to take shelter in.

Rin shivered, "Bet you didn't know a desert could be so cold at night, huh?"

She sat down in the darkness, leaning against one of the cliff's walls. She reached over, grabbed pieces of tumbleweed, and attempted to make a fire.

"This is basic." She informed Tobi, "I learned this back in the academy." It felt good to be using her shinobi knowledge again, "By rotating this twig at a fast speed into the thinner pieces, a fire will be created from the friction."

Tobi sat on the other side of her, listening attentively.

Rin kept spinning it.

"Any minute now." She explained casually, "Sometimes these things take time."

They sat in silence as she continued for the next 5 minutes.

"It's about to light!" She half-heartedly encouraged, "I can feel it getting hotter!"

Time passed in silence again.

Defeated, Rin dropped the twig. She sat back and crossed her arms, "It's a lot harder than it looks!" she said, "Maybe if it weren't for these damn sleeves it would had worked."

She let out a sigh, and calmed herself. "I guess we'll just have to put up with the cold…"

Tobi slightly tilted his mask to uncover his mouth, but blocked Rin from even seeing that much of his face.

"Katon no jutsu!" He said with a hand sign, and fire came raging out of his mouth onto the pile of dead plant. The fire lit up the area, and Tobi slid his mask back to normal.

"Why didn't you say you could do that?!" Rin snapped.

"I wanted to give you a chance!" he defended.

Rin turned the other way, pouting. _Now I feel like a complete idiot._

She faced the fire again. "At least it's starting to warm up now."

"Rin." Tobi said, "Earlier, with the Kazekage, you didn't have to do that."

"I know." She answered, "You already told me that."

"But you know you're not _really_ a member of Akatsuki, right?"

Rin sat up, "But I want to be!"

Tobi sighed a little, "The Akatsuki is made up of very strong and powerful shinobi-"

"I'm strong!" she debated, "And I'm a medic! I can be useful! I can do all sorts of things!"

"Like build a fire?"

Checkmate. Rin sat back, pouting again.

"Why do you want to join so badly, anyways?" Tobi asked.

Rin watched the fire dance, thinking of an appropriate answer. She didn't want to be too specific. "It's just something that I want to do," she answered, "Something I feel I _need_ to do."

Tobi didn't question her any further, but she asked, "What about you? Why did you join the Akatsuki?"

"I lost someone I really cared about because of the hate that curses this world." He said looking at the fire, "It was then that I knew true pain, and I dedicated my life to fixing this messed up hell we live in."

_Sort of like how I lost Obito_, Rin thought, _and Minato Sensei._ Tobi continued on, but Rin was lost in her thoughts again. She was thinking of her times with Obito and Kakashi. How goofy Obito was, and how he was always late to every mission, and how annoyed it made Kakashi. She remembered how she'd watch Kakashi all day, admiring him, that she hadn't even noticed Obito desperately dropping hints of his true feelings for her. She had never realized how he felt until after his death. Kakashi had told her one day, when she was watching him as usual. The guilt of knowing his dead friend loved her, and all she did was think about him instead had become overbearing, and he snapped at her that day telling her the truth about Obito.

_Why didn't I see it before? _Rin thought to herself as she closed her eyes.

"… foolish to think that bringing peace to this world is possible any other way." Tobi continued. He looked up at Rin, who had been quiet the entire time.

_She wasn't even listening!_ He thought.

He leaned over a little to get a better look at her. She was leaned against the wall, slouching deep in the over-sized cloak, head turned resting on her shoulder. Her eyes were closed as she breathed peacefully in her sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N:

Gosh I'm so excited as we finally enter the more romantic chapters! (Not lets-make-love romantic, but you will definitely start seeing Tobi's true feelings for Rin unfolding). I may (or may not) start working on some other projects as well, maybe some one shots, that may cause the chapters of this story to take more time to come out. I haven't fully decided if I want to start them now, or wait until I'm finished with this story. If I do choose to work on other stories, I promise I will still post _at least_ two chapters a week of Obito's Dream. Also, I don't remember if I've said this before, but please excuse any typos. The only time I have to type these up are between 12am-2 am, so I'm _really_ tired.

Okay, okay, okay, on to the story! :)

Six:

They were on foot again by sunrise, and made it to the Mountain's Graveyard by noon. The area was a dense forest with the bones of giant monsters scattered throughout. Tobi led Rin down an underground tunnel, taking them to the hideout. It was dark and damp; the walls and floor were made of dirt.

"Nice place." Rin said, attempting to be positive, "Very peaceful. And quiet."

"Ha!" Tobi snickered, "Just give it time."

He walked her down a hallway and to a door. "This will be your room." He told her, "I have some things to do, so just stay in here for now."

Tobi opened the door for Rin, and closed it behind her. The only source of light in the room was the open window, which was barred to keep her in. Rin tossed her backpack onto the single bed by the window. She unzipped her cloak, letting it slip off her arms and fall to the ground with a thud. She rubbed her shoulders in relief.

_I should change_, she thought pulling clothes out of her bag, _In fact I could use a bath too. It's been how many days now? But since I'm supposed to stay here, I guess a change of clothes will have to do for now._

Rin dropped her shorts and underwear to her ankles, and stepped out of them. She slipped a new pair of underwear on, and pulled her shirt off.

"Where did I put my tank top?" She mumbled to herself while digging in her bag.

"Is that it on the floor?"

With a scream, Rin turned around to find a bare snow-white man standing feet away. His face wasn't human-like, but instead it was a swirl very similar to Tobi's orange mask. Rin recognized the vibrant voice immediately, it was exactly how Tobi sounded when she first met him. She reached for the Akatsuki cloak, pulling it to her chest in an attempt to cover herself.

"Well there's no need to scream about it." He said, "I'm sure you can still wear it."

"What are you doing in here?!" She screeched.

"What are _you _doing in here?" he asked.

"Changing!"

"Hey!" he whined, taking notice of the black and red robe, "Why does _she _get a cloak?!"

"I don't know," another voice answered, "Apparently me and black Zetsu are about to ask Tobi now."

Rin turned and saw another white man. He was standing outside her window, leaning on the sill. Though they looked similar, this one was more human, having an actual face, green hair, and yellow eyes.

"Who are you?!" Rin asked, backing against the wall.

"We're Zetsu!" the one at the window said.

"Well," the swirly one added with a thumbs up, "I'm Spiral Zetsu, or just Sprial. I'm not like the other Zetsus. Obviously I am much more handsome."

"'Other Zetsus'?" Rin replied, "…Wait…why are you naked?!" She thought for a moment, then added, "Don't tell me. I knew this would happen. Strange weird man brings beautiful woman to an underground room in the middle of nowhere… Just know that I am prepared to defend myself in every way possible! I won't make it easy for you."

Zetsu looked at Spiral in confusion. Spiral just shrugged his shoulders.

"What are you talking about?" Spiral asked.

"We just wanted to say hi." Zetsu said.

"You know Tobi, then?" She asked them.

"Of course!" they said synchronized, "We were created to assist him."

_Assist him? _Rin thought.

Suddenly, next to Spiral's feet, another Zetsu began forming from the ground.

_Another one?!_

"Is this her?" He asked cheerfully, "Hey, nice cloak!"

"Why are you all naked?!" She screamed, frustrated now.

"We're not _really _naked." The Zetsu at the window said, "We don't have any _parts_. In fact, we don't have any human organs at all."

"Yea," Spiral added, "You're the only one naked around here. It's quite rude, actually."

"I'm not naked!" Rin yelled, "And you're the rude ones, just…_forming _in here!"

"We just wanted to welcome you." Second Zetsu replied.

"I actually have a question." Spiral said.

"What!?"

"What does it feel like to poop?"

Rin tore the door open and stormed out. She held the cloak against her, still covering herself. Rin stomped around until she finally found Tobi.

"Hey!" she called out to him, clearly angry, "HEY!"

"What? What is it?" Tobi asked then took a better look at her, "…are you naked?"

"No!" she answered, "Get your weird naked men away from me!"

"Zetsu." Tobi called.

Zetsu formed from the ground, "Yes?"

Another formed, "What is it?"

And another, "You called?"

They kept forming until the entire room was filled with Zetsus.

_They're everywhere!_

"Be more considerate of Rin's privacy." Tobi told them, "She's going to be staying with us for quite some time. Try not driving her nuts like you to do me."

One of the Zetsus showed Rin the bathroom. She thanked him, and closed the door behind her.

_I wonder what the other Akatsuki members look like. _ She thought as she showered. She had only seen Tobi and Deidara so far. Deidara wasn't weird-looking, but his personality was definitely different. As for Tobi, Rin had no idea what he looked like with him always hiding behind that mask.

_Maybe he's really ugly, _she thought, _and he's too embarrassed to show his face… No... Maybe he sun burns easily!... No, that's worse than my last guess._

Rin turned the water off, and pulled the shower curtain back. To her surprise, another Zetsu was standing in front of the door. This Zetsu was different from the others though. Half of him was white, and the other half was a shade of solid black. Green branches surrounded him as if they were attached. Rin gasped and grabbed the towel for cover.

"Tobi told you guys earlier about my privacy." She said, annoyed.

The Zetsu didn't respond.

_He's wearing an Akatsuki cloak… _

Rin stepped out of the shower, waiting for him to apologize or say anything at all.

_The white part of him is frowning… _Rin noticed, _But the black part…is he glaring at me?_

"Please leave." She said.

No answer. No movement.

"Fine!" Rin said, "I guess I'll have to get Tobi again!" She walked towards the door, attempting to squeeze by him.

Rin was suddenly slammed onto the wall, a pure black hand holding her by her throat. Zetsu turned his head, facing the terrified woman. He squeezed her neck tighter.

"You don't have to be so rough with her!" the white half cried out.

"Shut up!" its counterpart roared. His voice was deeper than that of the other Zetsus.

Rin grabbed the black hand in a desperate attempt to peel it off her throat. She looked at the white half of him, her eyes begging for help. White Zetsu just looked down, continuing his frown.

The grip became tighter. Rin could feel her blood rushing to her face as she began to turn blue. She pulled at his hand with all her might, but it didn't budge.

"Stop it!" the pale one cried, stuttering, "He'll find her dead! He'll know it was us!"

He continued to choke her.

"You're going to mess up the plan!" he said, still persuading, "At least wait until he's not around!"

The black Zetsu growled and brought his face close to Rin's, "If you get in my way, I'll kill you. If you try to run, I'll kill you. If you tell anyone, even Tobi, about this, I will kill you. I can see and hear everything through the other Zetsus. There are thousands of us. I am everywhere, and I will know if you have disobeyed. Where ever you are, even when you think you're all alone, I will be lurking in the shadows watching you. And I will always be ready to kill you."

He removed his hand, and Rin fell to the floor gasping for air. He sank back into the ground, until she could no longer see him.

_Holy shit! _Rin thought, wheezing and rubbing her neck.

-x-

Rin laid on her bed for a couple of hours pondering what happened earlier. Wondering who that black Zetsu was, and why he was the only one she had seen. Why was he wearing a cloak, and most importantly,  
_Why did he want me dead so badly?_

Suddenly, a white Zetsu formed out of the ground by her door. Frightened, Rin sat up, preparing herself for another attack.

"It's okay," he said, still frowning "It's just me."

"What was _that _all about?!" She asked, "Who was that guy?!"

Zetsu was quiet for a moment.

"He's always watching." He reminded her.

Rin took the hint and quickly changed the subject. "What did you want, anyways?"

"Dinner is ready."

As they walked down the hallway Rin asked, "You guys don't have organs. You don't poop. But you eat?"

"We don't eat. This is the very first dinner here."

"But Tobi eats. I've seen him."

"He doesn't _have _to eat, but he can. He was probably just eating in front of you so you'd think he's normal like you."

"'Normal'?" She asked, stopping.

"C'mon," He smiled, and led her to the dining room.

The room was dark like the others, and the tables and chairs were made up of plant. There were some tea candles on the table to help light the room.

"Sit! Sit! Sit!" Spiral cheered, rushing in. He was wearing a cowboy hat and carrying a platter of food in each hand.

Rin sat, curiously watching him.

"When Tobi told me you had to eat or you'd die, I knew it was finally my opportunity to prepare some food!" He cheered setting the plates down, "I went out and got some ingredients earlier. I've been cooking all day since!"

"What's with the hat?" She asked.

"Silly human." He replied proudly, "This is a special hat worn only by chefs. It represents my prodigious culinary skills. I bought it today while I was out."

"You're sure that's the correct hat?"

"Of course… Where's Tobi?"

Rin looked down at the platter in front of her. There was a heaping pile of dark green mush served on it.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I don't know." He shrugged his shoulders, "Tobi! There you are!"

Tobi walked to his seat, staring at Spiral's hat.

"My god, you're an idiot." He told him, sitting down.

"I'll just leave you two _alone_." Spiral said giddily, and skipped out of the room.

Rin picked at her food. "So, how was your day?"

"Stressful. Yours?"

"It was decent." _Apart from being threatened and almost murdered. _She thought to herself.

Rin carefully tasted the green mush, then abruptly spat it back out. She looked at Tobi, who had his mask slightly tilted, and was sipping it from a corner of his mouth.

"You don't have to eat it." She told him, "Zetsu told me you only eat it in front of me so I think you're normal. Besides, it tastes awful."

"Hey!" Spiral cried from a far.

"He said that?" Tobi asked, watching her expression in the flickering candle light. He corrected his mask, "What else has he told you about me?"

"They said something about them being created to assist you. What's that all about?"

He let out a sigh, "As you can assume creating a world of peace isn't easy, so I created the Zetsus. I see now that I created them with _very big mouths_." He emphasized the last part, knowing they'd hear.

"You created them to help you, but what about the other Akatsuki members?"

"They're of great help as well, but the Zetsus contribute in their own way."

"Oh… So when will I meet the other members? And when will be my first mission?" Rin asked, smiling.

"I already told you, you're not one of us." He answered, irritated.

"But I want to help too!" She cried.

"You can help cook. Apparently we need a lot of help in that department."

"I don't need her help!" Spiral called.

"Would you stop eavesdropping!?" Tobi yelled slamming his fists on the table and standing up.

Rin stood up too, "I don't want to cook! I want to help you guys bring peace!" She yelled.

"WELL TOO BAD!"

"She doesn't even have a hat!" Spiral shouted forming into the room.

"That's not even the right hat, dummy!" Rin snapped.

"Spiral! GET OUT!" Tobi roared, "Rin! You will not be going on any missions! You will stay here! Even if I have to lock you in a cage!"

"Don't call me a dummy, you useless female human!"

"Who are you calling 'useless', dummy! DUMMY! DUMMY! DUMMY! And I'm gonna go on the missions! Or… Or…"

"Or WHAT?!" Tobi yelled, "Or you'll scream?! Or you'll cry?! See if I give a damn!"

"You JERK! I should had told the Kazekage about you when I had the chance!"

"Well you didn't! You know why?!"

"Because she's a useless female human!"

"SHUT UP SPIRAL!" Tobi yelled.

"No, I don't know why!" Rin argued, "Please, enlighten me!"

"Because deep down you WANTED to leave that village! You WANTED to leave your SAD PITIFUL LIFE! But you're still alone, and weak! YOU'RE STILL NOTHING!"

Zetsu formed from the ground with a smile. "Are they kissing yet?" he asked Spiral.

They stood in silence as Tobi's words sank into her. Rin clenched her teeth, desperately trying to hold back the tears. But she felt them, hot, rolling down her cheeks. She ran out, hiding her face.

Spiral put his hands on his hips and turned to Tobi, "Well now look what you did."

Rin slammed and locked her door. She crawled onto her bed, and looked out the window. The sky was pink and purple as the sun was setting. The trees danced in the breeze. She sat fetal position, resting her chin on her arms.

_ Stupid bastard._ She thought, _He's one to talk about being alone! He had to create people so he wouldn't be alone._

Minutes later, Rin jerked when she finally noticed him at the side of her vision. She looked back out the window, continuing to pout.

"How'd you get in here?" Rin asked, mumbling.

"I walked through the door." Tobi answered.

"I locked it."

"No, I mean I literally walked through the door."

Rin sniffled, "Well what do you want?"

"Uh… at dinner…" he stuttered, "…maybe what I said …maybe it was a little harsh…"

Her hair hung down, hiding her face and expression from him.

_ Is that was passes for an apology around here? _She thought.

Tobi sighed, "Okay… Fine. I guess I shouldn't had said it."

Rin's silence told him it wasn't enough.

_ Well I'm not saying more than that! _He thought.

The breeze picked up again, lifting Rin's hair out of her face. Tobi could see the trail of tears down her cheeks, and the puffiness of her eyes.

_ Rin_, he thought as a part of him, locked deep within, began to reopen, _I didn't mean to…_

Suddenly, Tobi's black leather glove cut into Rin's vision as his hand lightly grabbed her face. He turned her head so he could fully see her. He held her face in both of his hands as her brown wet eyes looked up at him.

"Rin…" Tobi said softly, his thumbs wiping her tears away, "I'm so sorry… Please don't cry."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Hey guys. I've noticed some of you are very eager for Rin to find out Tobi is Obito, but please note that I do have a specific moment that she will be figuring it out. I know a lot of fanfics make up a storyline as they go, but before chapter 1 I had already made an outline for Obito's Dream and how I wanted it to go. In the summary I purposely put "Tobito x Rin", instead of "Obito x Rin" because I've always planned on him playing both roles in the story. I promise the time will come when she finds out, and I'd appreciate it if you guys could just bear with me until then. :) Like I said last chapter, Tobi will start revealing his true feelings for her, and Rin starts getting suspicious of his true identity. Also, I don't speak Japanese so please forgive me if the name of my made up Jutsu makes no sense.

I really hope you guys enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! :)

Seven:

The next day they began her training. If Tobi was going to bring her along on missions, he at least wanted her completely prepared. For a month he trained her intensely. They'd wake up before sunrise, and finish before dinner. Because Tobi didn't want her joining in the fight, he taught her only defensive techniques. Rin was fine with this, agreeing that defensive strategies went well with her medical ninjutsu. She learned to focus her chakra in her legs when running, tripling her speed if she needed to run away from an enemy. They practiced taijutsu so Tobi could train her evasiveness, allowing her to dodge an enemy's attack. The most important technique her taught her though, was Seki no Jutsu- a jutsu that built a protective barrier of chakra around her. This was the one that took the longest to learn. Just getting her chakra to form took a week, a second week to build a wall in front of her, and by the end of the month Rin could form a blue sphere of chakra all around her, giving her complete protection.

"For now, one is your limit." Tobi told her on their last day of training.

Rin was on her hands and knees breathing heavily from her last barrier.

"Seki no Justu uses a lot of chakra," he continued, "and because you're still new to using it you do not possess the adequate amount of chakra to completely rely on it in battle."

He helped Rin to her feet and helped her walk outside for fresh air.

Tobi added, "But the stronger the enemies attack, the more chakra it takes to prevent the barrier from breaking. For example, if you protect yourself againt my on-coming kunai you should have enough chakra for a second small barrier. But, if you were to put up one against my Katon no Jutsu, it would take more chakra and you'd be unable to create a second one."

Rin sat on the grass in the shade of a tree. This past week was especially hard on her since she was perfecting her new jutsu. She knew today's training wasn't over, this was just a break, but her entire body ached. She fought to keep her eyelids open, sleep forcing itself on her.

"Only use it for emergencies." Tobi told her, sitting down next to Rin, "If you're in danger you should always resort to just running away like I showed you."

Rin's tired body gave in and she fell forward, unconscious. Tobi grabbed her before she hit the ground and leaned her against his chest. When he was certain she was in a deep sleep, Tobi carefully slipped his mask off. He laid his face on her soft hair, breathing in her scent.

_Rin_, he thought, _If anything ever happens to you, …I'd never forgive myself._

Tobi couldn't help but think of the day he thought she died. He was supposed to protect her. He was supposed to keep her safe. But he was too late that day, arriving just in time to see Kakashi kill her.

That was when his heart turned black. That was when he became the ruthless killer he was today. He killed every mist shinobi around, he even wished there were more just so he could keep making them suffer. But when all were dead, he scooped up Rin's cold lifeless body and hopelessly checked for a pulse. There was no mistaking it. Rin was dead. So he held her close, and cherished her one last time.

But here she was, asleep in his arms, life pumping through her veins.

_How? _Tobi thought, kissing the back of her head, _How did you make it back to me?_

-x-

Rin jerked awake, realizing she had fallen asleep. She was in her room, tucked in bed. Outside the sky was dark with just hints of orange as the sun was barely rising. Rin stumbled to the door and out to the hallway. The hideout was almost eerie in the darkness.

"…Tobi?" Rin called out.

"I thought you were sleeping." She heard his voice coming from another room.

Rin slowly made her way to the room his voice came from. She was shocked to see both Tobi and the black and white Zetsu standing there.

"I have something important to do today." He told her, "I'll be gone on a mission for at least 2 days. No you cannot come."

"Is he going with you?" Rin asked quietly, pointing at Black Zetsu.

"No. I've ordered him to stay here specifically to make sure you don't try following me."

"But Tobi!" she cried.

"I don't want to hear it." He cut her off, "It's too dangerous for you. I want you safe."

Rin looked at Black Zetsu, then back at Tobi. She chose her words carefully, "And you're sure I'll be safe here?"

"Don't worry Rin." Black Zetsu smiled, "I'll take good care of you."

"I'll be leaving then." Tobi said and walked up to Rin, "I'll return to you as soon as possible." He disappeared using his transportation jutsu.

They stood in silence, staring at each other. Rin was on her toes, ready to dodge any attacks.

"You don't honestly think your petty training has given you the upper hand against me, do you?" He asked as the black half of his mouth curved into a smile. "I know all of your techniques. I watched you every day."

"What do you want?!" Rin yelled.

"I want you dead!"

"Why?"

"…Do you know how hard my master worked for his plan? What he's done? I'll be damned if you get in his way!"

"I'm not in Tobi's way! He wants me here!"

Black Zetsu began laughing uncontrollably. He finally managed to ask, "Do you truly think Tobi is my master? The only subordinates he has are those moronic white wannabes of me he's created. Tobi is nothing but a flea compared to my master, Madara!"

Roots from underground sprung up and grabbed onto Rin's ankles and wrists, wrapping them so she couldn't move.

"Try using your jutsu now!" he laughed. He formed a green branch into a spear and yelled, "You're supposed to be dead! I'll finish what I didn't so many years ago!"

He charged at her, and Rin stood helpless.

A white Zetsu shot out from the ground in front of her, taking the hit.

"Zetsu!" she screamed as his dead body wilted.

"It's okay!" another Zetsu said, suddenly behind her, "There's still thousands of me left!" He broke the roots that bound her.

Dozens of white Zetsus formed into the room and jumped onto Black Zetsu.

"Run Rin!" one of them cried.

"Go!" shouted another.

"What about you guys?" She asked.

"We'll be fine!"

Rin darted towards the exit.

"Unhand me!" Black Zetsu roared, "I'll kill you all!"

When she reached outside, another Zetsu formed by Rin. He handed Rin her Akatsuki cloak.

"Tobi and Spiral went with Deidara to the Leaf Village." He told her, "They're looking for the jinchuuriki of the ninetails. Find him quickly, and tell him to return as soon as possible! We'll hold Black Zetsu back until then."

"Can't you come with me?"

"No. Black Zetsu can see everything through me. If I stay with you he'll know your location."

Rin frowned.

"You'll be okay!" he said, "You've trained hard, and you've grown a lot. I know you can do it! Good luck!" And with that, he was gone.

Rin looked up, determined.

_Thank you, Zetsu!_

-x-

Rin sprinted through the forest quickly, focusing her chakra in her legs. It's been hours since she left the hideout, but she still hadn't reach the Leaf Village yet.

_I haven't seen the Leaf Village in years! _Rin thought, running through the trees, _I wonder how everyone is doing… I wonder if Kakashi is still alive…_

**BOOM! **There was a loud explosion to the far left of Rin.

_That must be Deidara!_

"You stupid Uchiha!" Deidara yelled from a top his clay bird.

"Almost got him, Senpai!" Spiral cheered from inside of Tobi.

"First I'll kill you," Deidara smirked at the young Uchiha, "then I'll kill your conceited older brother!"

"Your weak explosions don't scare me," Sasuke replied, "Unfortunately for you, I'll be the one to kill Itachi, of course, after I've killed you."

The Uchiha was in his monster form; gray skin, blue hair, and two giant wings the shape of claws. At an instant, he was in the sky, behind Deidara.

"Chidori!" He yelled, bringing down his right hand of screeching sparks.

"Shit!" Deidara growled.

"Seki no Jutsu!"

The sparks were stopped by a blue barrier that surrounded both Rin and Deidara.

"Rin?!" Tobi yelled from below, clearly surprised to see her.

"Nice job, girl." Deidara smirked, "I take it you're the new member. And to think, I was going to kill you back then."

Sasuke glared at her, then put more chakra into his Chidori. The sparks grew larger against the barrier, threatening to shatter it. Rin put her hands up and focused more chakra into it.

_This must be the Jinchuuriki. He's tough! _She thought to herself as she clentched her teeth, _I cannot let him break my barrier!_

Sasuke focused more into his attack. "You cannot win this." He told her, "I have much more chakra than you."

"Hmph." Deidara smirked, "You Uchiha are so confident."

_Uchiha?!... His eyes! _Rin noticed, _Those red eyes!_

The image of Obito dying haunted her again, this time his eye red with Sharingan.

_That's right! Those are the eyes of the Uchiha! _She remembered Tobi's eye the first night she was with him. _…Then that means…_

Three large branches suddenly erupted from Sasuke's right shoulder, and through his right wing. He yelled in pain as his injured arm fell limp, Chidori fading away, and his one good wing desperately keeping him up. He retreated back a couple of yards.

"What the-?!" Deidara said, "Tobi, was that you?!"

Rin released the barrier, falling to her knees in exhaustion.

"I told you to stay out of this!" Deidara yelled down at him, "I'll be the one to defeat the Uchiha!" He wasn't exactly in his best condition to do so. Deidara was obviously injured, and by the looks of the deformed surrounding area, he had also used up most of his chakra.

"I can heal you," Rin said under her breath, "Just let me rest a moment."

Rin was finally being an active member of the Akatsuki. Even though not too long ago she was running for her life, running from Tobi and Deidara, here she was now on the battlefield with them. They were teammates. They shared the same goal for peace, and now with their help and her new jutsu, Rin could finally accomplish Obito's dream.

"That won't be necessary." Deidara said, declining her offer.

She looked back up at him. His body seemed as if it was breaking like glass, cracks spreading all over.

"I'll take you out with this last attack!" Deidara called to Sasuke, "I'll show you the true beauty of my art by detonating myself! The explosion will cover over 10 kilometers! You can't get away now!"

"Deidara!?" Rin cried.

_He's going to take us down with him! _Tobi thought from below.

"MY ART…" Deidara yelled.

_I don't have enough chakra to protect myself! _Rin, terrifyingly, realized.

"…IS AN EXPLOSION!"

The blinding light of his power burst out, the explosion taking everything with it.

-x-

Rin opened her tightly shut up eyes when she realized she was unharmed. She found herself on a pillar in the darkness.

_Tobi's dimension?_

Her ears picked up hoarse breathing behind her. She turned around, bewildered to see an injured Tobi sitting feet away. He was hunched over, with his knees up. His left arm, sleeveless, was cut, burned, and bleeding in multiple places. His right arm was completely missing. The top of his mask was broken, revealing only his eyes and forehead.

One look at him and Rin knew exactly what happened. Tobi had reached Rin just in time to move her here, but at the cost of his own safety. He could have gotten away all by himself and been fine, but instead he chose to save her and delay his own escape. Because of her, Tobi was caught in the explosion, and by the looks of it, he had barely made it out.

Rin sat in front of him, and lightly grabbed his arm in an attempt to heal it. Tobi screamed from the pain of her touch. She immediately let go, pulling her hands away. Tobi caught one of her wrists in his hand. His grip was tight.

"Why were you there?!" his voice was low yet harsh.

"I… I…"

"I told you to stay at home!"

"But I couldn't-"

"You were almost killed!" Tobi's voice was loud now, "And for what?! _Deidara_?!"

Rin stuttered, "It's just… I thought…"

"You thought what?! You thought you were _friends_?! You thought you were _teammates_?!" He yelled, "I didn't teach you that jutsu so you could protect _him_! I taught you it to protect yourself! And after you used it on him, look how quickly he didn't hesitate to kill you for his own selfish reasons!"

"I'm so sorry, Tobi!" she cried out.

He took a deep breath, then replied lowly, "If I was just a moment later, you would've been killed."

She looked into his red eyes, then back down. She mumbled, "Maybe you should've let me get killed. You should had just saved yourself."

His eyes grew wide, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"…Do you know…" Tobi replied, calmly, "…how hard I've tried to keep you safe?"

Rin looked back up at him.

"I didn't want you joining the Akatsuki because I didn't want you in danger."

"Tobi…"

"But I knew you were determined. Remember, in the desert? You said you'd always stay by my side. And I said I'd always protect you."

He gently let her wrist go. Rin stared at him, a loss for words.

Tobi continued, "So I taught you techniques to keep you uninjured. Your safety is always my top priority."

Rin couldn't help but remember her deal with Obito. When she was so young and naïve, thinking she'd always protect him from death. Every time he was hurt, she'd heal him. She'd save his life again and again, for the rest of her life, and she was happy to do so. All that time Rin thought she would always protect him; she had never been so wrong about anything in her life.

"You can't always protect me." Rin mumbled to Tobi, "It's impossible to protect someone from everything."

These words struck a nerve in Tobi. He thought of Kakashi taking responsibility for Rin's safety so long ago, then almost killing her himself.

Tobi replied lowly, "…Those who give their word to protect someone and don't, are worse than trash."

His words pierced through Rin, and before she knew it the tears were streaming down her face.

"Rin? What is it?!"

"I'm worse than trash!" She cried out. She sobbed into her hands.

"What are you talking about?!"

Years of bottling up her sadness and guilt came pouring out of her. Rin's crying was uncontrollable, and her body jerked violently with each sob. She looked back up at Tobi.

"I told him I'd protect him and I let him die!"

"What? Rin! Who?!"

"Obito!" she cried, "I was supposed to always take care of him! But he died! I was too weak, and he died!"

"…Rin…"

She was completely hysterical now. "So I joined the Akatsuki to fufil his dream of peace, the dream that I killed! But I can't even do _that_ right! He shouldn't have came back for me that day! He should've let me die so he could live! But instead, he saved me, and I… I…" Rin hesitated for a moment. She allowed herself a breath then whispered, "…I killed him."

Tobi somehow found the strength to scoop her up and hold her. She laid her face on the side of his neck. Tobi could feel her tears, hot, against his skin.

"Is that, truly, what you think?" he asked softly.

"It's not what I think. It's what I know."

"But if he chose to save you," Tobi replied, "then his death was his own fault."

"No because I was supposed to heal him! He counted on me!" She was still sobbing.

"Shhh." He said, petting her hair, "Shhh. Don't cry."

They sat like that for minutes, but she couldn't calm herself down.

Tobi sighed, "…Rin…" He removed his hand from her hair, and reached for his mask…

"Tobi!" Spiral suddenly yelled from within him.

Tobi paused.

"Spiral?" Rin asked, looking up.

"He's inside me." Tobi told her, "Spiral, what's wrong?"

"It's Zetsu! I just received word from him!"

"Zetsu!" Rin cried out, remembering, "Tobi, I was supposed to tell you!"

"Tell me what?"

"Tobi!" Spiral yelled again.

"What?! What happened?!"

"…T-there's only one Zetsu now."

"What do you mean there's only one Zetsu?!"

Spiral paused for a moment, then answered, "The other Zetsus, …they've all been killed."

A/N: I know you guys are going to kill me for that ending! ;D He didn't remove his mask this time, but maybe next time he will. Maybe. :)


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long, I've been crazy busy! Remember in chapter one when I said I tried to stay as close as the actual Naruto storyline as possible but I did have to make some changes to fit this story? Well you're definitely going to start seeing those changes from here on out. Spiral will fill you in on the details this chapter. *But Daasia, the Gedo Statue used both Senju and Uchiha DNA to create the Zetsus.* Well not in this story! LOL. The Gedo Statue still does the same thing for everything else, just for the sake of my story's plot (which, keep in mind, is focused on tobito x rin, not on the war itself) it does not use Senju and Uchiha DNA to make Zetsu. *But Daasia, I don't like that you did that.* Well as nice as I can say this, then don't read it. Also, don't worry, I won't bombard you guys with another ending A/N like the last chapter. :P

Eight:

"What do you mean they've been killed?!" Tobi asked.

"Black Zetsu!" Spiral answered, "He went berserk! He killed all of them but the one that escaped! Oh the humanity!"

"Why would he kill them?! He knows we need them!"

"Ohh the deception!"

"He knows Zetsu is the only one that can be cloned!"

"Ohhh the despair!"

"If that last Zetsu dies then…"

"Ohhhhh the-"

"Spiral, would you shut up?!" Tobi yelled.

"Sorry."

Tobi moved the three of them back outside. The surrounding area was nothing but dirt. Deidara had destroyed everything. Tobi sighed and rubbed one of his temples. "Okay," he said calmly, "Spiral go find Zetsu and keep him alive at all costs. We'll catch up as soon as possible."

"Yes sir!" Spiral peeled out of Tobi and sank into the ground.

Tobi stumbled to his feet with a grunt. He walked, forcing one step at a time, hunched over and breathing heavily.

"What are you doing?!" Rin asked, shocked that he was even moving, "You can't walk in your condition!"

"I need to get back to the Mountain's Graveyard as soon as possible."

Rin grabbed his arm, "Just wait a second! At least let me heal your injuries!"

"I could never ask you to do such a thing with your chakra so low." Tobi replied, "I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"_Me_?! Hurt _myself_?! You're missing an arm!"

Tobi brushed her off and continued stumbling away. Rin pushed him to a sitting position and got on her knees in front of him.

"Don't make me force you," she said, her big determined eyes inches from his, "I'm the healer, remember?"

Tobi smiled under his mask. "Yes," he said, "I remember."

Rin quickly examined each injury and decided to begin with the obviously fatal one of them; his armless shoulder.

"Don't bother." He told her as her hands glowed on his shoulder. Rin stopped, staring at the wound skeptically. Not only had Tobi not bled to death, but his shoulder wasn't even bleeding at all.

"The arm from before was artificial." He said.

"And the other one?"

"No, that one is real."

Rin began healing the cuts and burns on his arm. He couldn't help but notice her hands were small and dainty against him. She blushed as her fingertips touched his lean bicep.

"Can I ask you something? It's a little personal." Rin asked, not looking away from his arm.

"Go ahead."

She paused for a moment, thinking of the best way to go about it.

"I realized that your eyes, …they're sharingan, right?"

"That's correct."

"I heard the entire Uchiha clan was murdered years ago. Only one survived; that boy we fought earlier. So …your eyes are implanted then?"

"I guess you could say that."

Rin sighed on the inside, but kept her kind posture. Tobi was so damn difficult to understand. It didn't help that he always gave her such general answers. Rin knew what she asked him was private, but something in her wanted to push a little further. She wanted to know more about the person Tobi was.

"I use to know someone with an implanted Sharingan." Rin said, "But because he wasn't an Uchiha he had a lot of trouble trying to use it. You use yours pretty well for someone who isn't an Uchiha."

_Dark hair_. _Very strong_. _Extremely skilled at using his Sharingan_, Rin thought.

"…You _aren't_ an Uchiha, right?"

"Thank you for healing me." Tobi said, standing up, "We should get going."

_I guess I pried too much._

"That Uchiha boy," Rin tried again as they ran through the trees, "He was jinchuuriki of the ninetails?"

"No." Tobi said.

"Then why were you fighting him?"

"Deidara had a hatred for all Uchiha. He just wanted to kill him."

"Oh. Then who _is _the host of the ninetails?"

Tobi was quiet as they continued forward.

"The son of the fourth Hokage." He finally answered.

_Minato Sensei's son?!_ Rin thought, memories of Minato visiting her resurfacing in her mind, _…Naruto…_

She looked forward again, facing Tobi's back as they ran. "When you extract the beast…" she said, "…it doesn't hurt them?"

"It kills them." He answered flatly.

"But …I thought you wanted peace."

"Jinchuuriki are hated by their villages." Tobi replied, "They are burdens. They are unstable and they murder innocent villagers for their own pleasure."

Rin thought of Gaara before he became the Kazekage. He was just a boy then, and Rin was just a teenager. Because she lived in the poorer side of the village, and Gaara in the richer part, she rarely ever saw the red-headed boy. She would hear horror stories about him every day though. Killing people for any reason, destroying homes, unleashing his one-tail beast onto the village. Everyone feared him then. Everyone hated him.

"The lives of 9 jinchuuriki are a small price to pay for infinite world peace." Tobi added.

_I guess that's true_, Rin thought, …but_ killing him and Naruto… _

Rin couldn't help but to feel guilty. She was helping a group of people kill Minato's son. He was so excited to be a father, she was so happy for him, and look at them now; Minato dead and Rin hunting after his son. She even felt guilty for the Kazekage. Rin was aware that over the month of her training the one-tail had been extracted by the other Akatsuki members. The Kazekage was terrible as a child, but he became kind. Rin had the chance to save him, and because she did nothing he was now dead.

Tobi could tell she was upset, and he knew exactly why. "If it makes you feel any better," he told her, "I heard the Kazekage somehow survived the ordeal."

_Tobi… _Rin thought, acknowledging his attempt to comfort her. Lately, something about him really lifted her sorrow she had for so many years. She felt needed, wanted. It's true she didn't know a lot about him, but she could feel her heart opening up to him more and more each day. He was like a stranger to her, but at the same time she felt like she had known him her entire life.

-x-

Mountain's Graveyard was littered with dead Zetsus. Tobi became frustrated, while Rin hurt at the sight of her friend's bodies.

"Dammit!" Tobi growled.

"Where's Spiral and Zetsu?" Rin asked, worried.

"I don't know, but it's bad news if that last Zetsu is dead too."

"What about Spiral?"

"What _about _him?"

"Aren't you worried that he may die too?" She asked, a little surprised at his attitude.

"Not particularly." Tobi answered.

Rin crossed her arms.

"How could this happen?" Tobi mumbled to himself looking around, "Why would he kill the Zetsus?"

"Because they tried to protect me." Rin spoke up, viewing the bodies around her.

Tobi face her, surprised, "What?"

"Black Zetsu was trying to kill me. I don't know why though. But Zetsu jumped in to occupy him while I escaped. That's why I was out searching for you."

Tobi was silent for a moment, taking in this new information. "Did he say anything to you?" He asked.

"I don't remember exactly. I was busy worrying for my life," she defended, "But I think he said something about you not being his master, and about finishing what he should had …I don't remember it all."

"It's okay," Zetsu said, suddenly forming from the ground with Spiral. "I can take it from here," he told her.

Tobi and Zetsu talked in private while Rin and Spiral began cleaning up the bodies.

"Psst! Spiral!" Rin whispered.

"Huh? …What?"

"Who is Black Zetsu's master? And why do we have so many Zetsu clones anyways?" She asked. _If Tobi won't tell me anything_, Rin thought, _I'll just get some information from big mouth over here._

Spiral stood proudly, "Sorry Rin, but that is classified information."

"Oh come on! I won't tell anyone. _Please_?" She said lowly.

"No can do. My lips are sealed."

"You don't even have lips!" Rin whispered harshly.

"You don't know that!" he whispered back.

"Wait …_do_ you have lips, Spiral?"

"No. I don't."

Rin let out a long sigh. They continued cleaning, getting farther from Tobi and Zetsu.

"Spiral!" Rin sang, proud of her idea.

"What?"

She was smiling a big cheesy grin, "If you tell me what I want to know, I'll tell you what it's like to poop."

Spiral gasped.

"Remember you can't tell anyone!" he said, "Tobi will kill me if he finds out I told you anything!"

"I won't, I won't!" She agreed, still smiling. She scooted closer to him, "Now tell me about Black Zetsu's master and all the Zetsu clones."

"Well," Spiral began, "it all started when Madara found Tobi-"

"'Madara'?" Rin asked, remembering the name.

"Black Zetsu's master. As I was saying, it all started when Madara found Tobi and decided he would help with the plan-"

"'The plan'?"

"Yes the plan! So he decided Tobi would help with the plan and he created-"

"What plan?"

"Do you want me to tell you the story or not?"

"Okay, sorry! Go on."

"Madara was …_unable_ to stay with Tobi, so, using the Gedo Statue he created Zetsu. His idea was to give Zetsu to Tobi, and have Tobi clone him while he rested. But Zetsu is _waaay _weak, Madara assumed this was because Zetsu is completely artificial. So, after creating three Zetsu clones, Madara took some DNA and chakra from himself, took one of the clones, and tried to create a stronger Zetsu. He succeeded and the Zetsu clone became Black Zetsu. The black half being a piece of Madara, you could say."

Rin listened, remembering how Black Zetsu looked. _His white half always did seem nice like the other Zetsus._

"But Madara was unable to clone Black Zetsu," Spiral continued, "He thought maybe it was because he was old and weak then. So he decided to try again but with Tobi's DNA and chakra."

"Tobi?"

"Tobi was unconscious during that time. He was hurt and sleeping for days."

"So he doesn't know?"

"No." Spiral answered harshly, "So you can't tell him!"

"What happened when Madara used Tobi's DNA and chakra?" Rin asked.

Spiral looked down at the floor. "It was a complete failure," he said, disheartened, "_That_ Zetsu couldn't be cloned either, he was weaker than Black Zetsu, and he could only communicate with the others telepathically. He couldn't just automatically see and hear what they did like the others could."

Rin gasped at the realization, "It was you, wasn't it? That's why there is only one of you!"

Spiral continued, "So Madara settled with Zetsu, leaving Tobi Black Zetsu, Zetsu, and me. That's when Tobi started cloning."

"Wait." Rin interrupted, "Earlier you said Madara made 3 Zetsu clones. That's 4 total. The original, the two that were experimented on, and the fourth?"

"Huh?" he said, "Oh yea. Like I said before, Tobi was really hurt, missing an arm and some other parts, so that Zetsu clone permanently infused into him."

"What?! 'Permanently infused'?!"

"Yea. But not like how I infuse with him." Spiral replied, "I temporarily merge with him so he can communicate to the other Zetsus while he's out. But when one permanently infuses they can heal their hosts wounds, and give them their chakra but at the cost of their own life."

"Wow." Rin said looking down, "…So why did Madara want so many clones?"

"I can't tell you that."

"What?! Why not?!"

"We agreed I'd tell you who Black Zetsu's master was, and why there were so many Zetsu clones." He put his hands on his hips, "And I did. Madara, and because Madara wanted all these clones but was unable to clone us."

"Oh, you!" Rin growled, realizing she had been tricked out of the true answer, "You just _act_ stupid, don't you?!"

"Now tell me about poop!" Spiral cheered.

Rin sighed, and tried her best to explain it to him. She used words like "pressure" and "fullness", and Spiral just listened excitedly.

"I see." Spiral said when she finished explaining, "You humans are so weird."

"You're the weird one!" Rin exclaimed.

-x-

When Rin was done for the day, she sat on her bed looking out the window.

_Naruto…_ she thought, _…I wonder if you really are evil like the other Jinchuuriki. _It was hard to imagine a child of her Sensei being evil and murderous. _I guess if you are dangerous, then it would be better for the world if you didn't have the kyuubi. Still …you're _his_ son._

Rin clenched her fist in determination. _But no matter what, _she thought, _I _will_ achieve Obito's dream of peace. Even if it does mean the death of Naruto. Even if it means I, myself,…_

"Rin." A voice from behind her interrupted her thoughts.

She turned around to see Spiral.

"Dinner is served!" he said, giving her a thumbs up.

Rin looked back out the window. "…I'm not very hungry."

Spiral walked up to her. "Rin," he said gently. He put a hand on her shoulder for comfort, "…If you don't eat, …how will you poop?"

She shot him a glare.

"Scary!" He cried, and formed out of the room.

Spiral made his way into Tobi's bedroom, where he was finishing repairing his mask.

"Dinner?" Tobi guessed, "I'll be there in a minute."

"Well actually…" Spiral said nervously, "I sort of have a question."

"I already told you, we are not getting a parrot." Tobi replied, fiddling the mask in his hand, "We don't need another mouth around here."

"But you promised!" Spiral cried, "…Ehem! I mean, no, I have to ask you something else."

"Well, what is it?"

Spiral put his hands on his hips, "When are you going to tell her?"

Tobi knew exactly what Spiral was referring to.

"It's not as easy as it sounds!" he said, standing up.

"What's so difficult? Just tell her!"

Tobi walked to the window, looking out it. "I'm not telling her. End of discussion."

Spiral became frustrated, "Well that's selfish! You selfish man!" It was so hard to take Spiral seriously. Even angry, he was like a child.

"Besides," Tobi said, turning to face Spiral, "Look at me!"

He paused, then looked back down at the orange mask in his hand. "Half of my face is covered in scars."

Spiral crossed his arms. "So you rather her mope around because you're self-conscious about your face?" His voice grew louder now, "You can rest easy now, knowing she's alive, but you just stand there while she thinks you're dead! You just stand there and let her be broken-hearted!"

Tobi faced him, enraged. "You think I don't know that!?" he yelled, "You think I don't realize that _I_ am the reason she is in pain every day?! Of course I know that!" His voice roared in the large room. "But she remembers me as a kind-hearted boy. What am I supposed to do?! Take off my mask and say 'Surprise! I'm really a mass murderer leading the most wanted criminal group in the nation'!?"

They stood in silence for a moment. Tobi could feel his mask threatening to break under his angry grip. He calmed himself, and faced the window again.

"You can't even begin to imagine how badly I want her," Tobi said lowly, "but destroying who she thinks Obito is would break her heart even more."


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Sorry this chapter is a little short. It's a little slow-paced too, but the ending makes me smile.

Nine:

The months went by slowly. Rin could feel Tobi becoming more tense with each day. She would occasionally hear the Zetsus talking amongst each other about "_the plan_" and how soon it would be _"the day"_. Tobi continued to give her no clear answers, and Spiral was becoming harder to bribe.

Tobi would leave, sometimes just for hours, sometimes for days. He always made sure to say some sort of good bye to Rin. His partings varied from a simple "I'm leaving now" to an "I'll return to you as soon as possible" and everything in-between. Each time he'd say it was too dangerous for her to come along and ask her to stay home; each time the image of Tobi injured after saving her from Deidara would creep up on her, and Rin would abide his wishes.

Tobi always left Spiral with her now when he left. Spiral, who apparently was stronger than Zetsu, would keep watch on her making sure she didn't go after Tobi. He was also there to help her escape if Black Zetsu were to appear again. But Black Zetsu never did come back. And they would all wonder why he destroyed the clones and jeopardized the plan, and where he ran off to.

Immediately after Black Zetsu's attack, Tobi began mass-cloning Zetsu in a desperate attempt to regain all that he lost. The first new clone, of course, infused into Tobi giving him a right arm.

"There's so many Zetsus again." Rin positively said one day, in hopes to raise Tobi's spirit. He was always so stressed lately.

"It's not the same." He told her, "I use to have thousands. This is only a couple hundred."

The days Tobi was at Mountain's Graveyard he'd try to spend it with Rin. They would train a little, they'd go outside and talk about simple things, sometimes they'd sit under the stars and Rin would tell him about Obito's dream. She'd dig into her past, revealing to Tobi her memories, who she was, and how she grew up. Tobi would listen, but never let down his walls and told her more about himself. But Rin would try each time, hoping to finally break that wall that confined him from the rest of the world.

Some days Tobi would take her to small markets so Rin could spend some time out of Mountain's Graveyard. She was grateful for the change of scenery. Rin would pick out spices and ingredients for dinner, medicinal herbs, kunais and small weapons, and anything else that caught her eye. Tobi would buy it all. Over the months Rin gave Spiral a hand or two in the kitchen, which Spiral would reluctantly accept. That is, until she arrived back from a market with Tobi one day, presenting to him an actual chef's hat.

"I saw it and knew I had to get it for you." She told Spiral that day.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He cheered, putting it on, "How do I look?"

"Like a moron." Tobi answered flatly.

"Tobi!" Rin scolded, "You shouldn't be so mean! You should really say something nice to him now."

"Yea!" Spiral chimed, "Say something nice!"

Tobi smirked under his mask and folded his arms. "Fine." He replied, "You don't look any _less_ like a moron than usual."

"That's not nice!" Spiral cried, "Rin! Make him be nice!"

"_Tobi._" Rin said with a long sigh, "Can't you be a good boy?"

"Ooh! _I'm_ a good boy!" Spiral cheered.

Though Tobi tried to be home as much as possible, there were the unfortunate days he had to leave. Rin missed him, more than she'd expect, and found herself always trying to keep busy. One day, with Tobi gone, Rin overheard Spiral and Zetsu talking. There was a new member of Akatsuki; Uchiha Sasuke.

"They boy I battled?!" Rin cut in.

"Spiral, you really need to watch what you say with her around." Zetsu told him.

"He's alive?!" She asked.

"Yea." answered Zetsu, "I guess the only one Deidara managed to take out was himself."

Rin reminded them of Sasuke trying to kill her and Tobi. How he tried destroying her barrier.

"How could he join us?!" She exclaimed, "Does Tobi know?!"

"Relax." Zetsu said, "He wants to help us. Besides, I don't see him sticking around for too long."

"If you're afraid he'll hurt you," Spiral said to Rin, "Well, Tobi would never let that happen."

As the days passed, the nights became more and more cruel to Rin. Nightmares ran wild in her unconscious imagination. She noticed a pattern of night terrors becoming more intense the days Tobi was gone. She blamed it on her feeling not as safe with him so far away.

But now, Rin found herself in a forest, alone and lost.

"…Rin…" She heard a faint voice call out.

She pushed through the branches looking for the voice's owner.

"…Rin…"

Rin followed the voice, moving faster as it got closer.

"Where are you?" she asked.

No answer. Rin pushed more swiping at the branches and leaves in her way. Finally, she made it through the thicket. There were boulders piled on top of each other, and Rin immediately recognized the bloody boy staring at her from yards away. Half of his body was crushed under stone, the other half lay motionless.

"Obito!" Rin screamed, running to him. She laid a hand on his cold pale face. He looked up at her with his dark eye, saying nothing.

"I-I can save you!" She cried, and began hitting the boulder, "I can move this, and I can heal you!"

Rin slammed her entire body onto the rock. She punched it, she pushed it, but the boulder was merciless.

"…Obito…" she whispered, kneeling next to him. His face became blurred in her tears. "I'm sorry." She said, choking on her sobs.

The earth shook, threatening to capture her as well.

"Rin!" a familiar voice called.

"Kakashi?" she asked, looking up. Rin began to stand to follow Kakashi's voice, when something grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down.

She looked to see Obito holding on to her, his eye, now red, glaring up at her.

"Where do you think you're going?!" He asked.

Caught off guard by his angry stare, Rin stuttered. "O-Obito... I-I…"

"You're not going anywhere!" Obito yelled.

"I have to, or I'll be trapped too!" Rin tugged away, but Obito's grip was strong. "Let go of me!" she cried.

"You said you'd watch over!" He told her, "You said you'd take care of me!"

Rin stopped resisting, guilt taking over.

"YOU LIED!" he yelled at her.

Rocks began falling all around them. Rin looked up. Kakashi stood atop the pile of stone, watching her.

"Kakashi!" Rin cried, "Help me!"

"This is all your fault." Kakashi told her, "Getting captured. Being weak. Always getting in the way. You don't deserve to live."

The rocks were closing in on her now, surrounding her.

"Stay there and die," he said, "you bitch."

Rin looked back at Obito. His red eye continued to stare at her. He held onto her wrist still, anchoring her besides him. Obito's voice was soft now as he spoke.

"Stay by my side, like you promised," he said to her, "and die with me."

Rin suddenly saw a large rock falling from directly above her. It got closer, and closer, about to crush her.

Rin awoke with a scream. She sat up, sitting in the darkness of her room, trying to calm her breathing. The moonlight shined down at her.

_Please forgive me_, she thought as tears rolled down her cheeks. Rin stayed in her room, crying silently.

"Tobi-sama!" she heard Spiral cheer in another room.

_He's back_? She thought, standing up. Rin put her ear to the door, trying to hear them. Tobi spoke too low for her to make out his words, but Spiral was easy to hear as usual.

"She's sleeping." Spiral said, "She went to bed a couple of hours ago."

Tobi said something back.

"She's been waking up screaming the past couple of nights," Spiral told him, "but she goes back to sleep."

Tobi asked him something.

"Of course I check on her." Spiral answered, "And no, there's been no sign of Black Zetsu anywhere."

Rin heard nothing more, and after a minute or two she creaked her door open and slipped into the hallway. She walked lightly, looking for anyone, but they were all gone now. Rin made her way to Tobi's room. His door was closed, but she could see light peering out from underneath it. Rin lifted her hand to knock, but paused.

_I shouldn't bug him…_, she thought then looked down the dark hallway she came from, _…but I really don't want to be alone with my thoughts right now …But he's probably tired, …I should go…_

"Come in." Tobi said from inside his room.

_How did he know?_ Rin thought, _I didn't make any noise!_

She slowly opened the door, and quietly stepped in. She felt ashamed to be bothering him so late, but also felt too ashamed to go back and face her nightmare. Tobi took notice of her worried expression. His cloak was on the bed, and Tobi was by the window standing in his under-armor and black pants.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

Rin closed the door behind her, leaning against it. She looked at the ground.

"I can't sleep," she answered, "Well …I don't want to sleep."

"Why not? Nightmares?"

Rin didn't answer. She knew he found out about the night terrors through Spiral.

"What are your nightmares about?" Tobi asked.

"My past catching up to me." She answered quietly.

"The Uchiha boy again, huh?"

Rin looked up at him; Tobi knew her too well. All those days talking outside. Her silence confirmed his guess.

"I told you to forget about it." He said, "Don't let it bother you."

She acknowledged his attempt to comfort her, but it was no help. Tobi walked over to a small table, grabbed two chairs, and brought them to the window. He sat in one, and gently patted the other.

Rin sat down, looking out his window. The view was different from her own. The ground was far below them, hills upon hills of long thin grass dancing in the breeze. There wasn't a tree in sight. The moon was full against the flickering stars.

"We're gathering the tailed beasts for their power," he suddenly told her. He was looking up at the moon.

_He's actually going to tell me information?_

Tobi continued, "With their power we can use a genjutsu to put everyone into a dream world. Each person will live their own perfect world, their own perfect life."

It was silent for a moment, until Rin finally said, "Wow. To think the genjutsu would be strong enough to affect everyone. It all just seems so …surreal."

Tobi looked at her, watching the curiosity in her expression.

"It's the only way this world can obtain true peace." He told her.

Rin was unsure how to feel about it. She looked at the moon. _Is fake peace really true peace? But if it's the only way, I owe it to Obito to support it._

"Your friend will be alive in the dream world." Tobi said all of a sudden.

She shot him a look of surprise.

He continued, "And all your feelings of guilt will be gone. You won't hurt anymore …That's what I want for you."

_Tobi…_

"I have to succeed with this goal," he said, "If I do, I can give everyone true happiness. I can give you true happiness."

"Won't I remember his death?" Rin asked.

"Anything tragic that happened in your life will disappear. Those events don't exist in that world."

_I never die in your world, Rin, _Tobi thought to himself, _and you can be happy again, even if it is with Kakashi._

"Will you be there?" she asked.

Tobi was caught off guard by the question. "Me?" he asked.

"Is that weird?" Rin replied, smiling shyly, "I kind of want you to be there."

"If you want me to be there, then I will be there."

Rin's smile grew at his answer. She looked back outside, too shy to look him in the eye for her next question.

"Will I be in yours?" she asked finally.

Tobi was quiet for a moment. He watched her smiling up at the stars.

"Of course." He answered.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Sorry it's been a while, again! I've been really sick these past couple of days. I got bronchitis. Ain't nobody got time fo' dat! No, but seriously, I actually do have bronchitis. And I really don't have time for it. I'm excited that this is my tenth chapter! I've always been too shy to let anyone read what I write, so I never imagined I'd be posting a tenth chapter of something up. What better way to celebrate this than with a super long chapter? There's no better way, I say. Usually my chapters are about 2500-3000 words each, and this one is well over 5500! Yay! If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a comment! :)

Ten:

_ I'm late!_ Rin immediately sat up from her sleep. The sun was still down, which meant maybe Tobi hadn't left yet. Rin dressed into her battle outfit the night before, and wore it to bed to save her the time of changing the next morning. She was grateful she did. Rin threw her blanket off her and stumbled to her shoes in the dark. She zipped up one shoe, and hopped out the door while slipping on the second one. As fast as she could, Rin ran down the hallway.

_This is it!_ She thought, _No matter what, this will be the time!_

Rin practically flew into Tobi's office. Spiral was there, and she arrived just in time to see Tobi fading away.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" she screamed, tackling the empty space Tobi had taken up just a second before.

_Dammit!_ She thought, leaning against the wall, _He's gone._

"Sorry, Rin." Spiral said, "Maybe next time."

Suddenly, Tobi transported back into the room.

"Tobi!" Rin beamed.

"I thought you were sleeping." Tobi told her, "I would had said good bye, but I didn't want to wake you."

Tobi took notice of her outfit. Usually she wore normal clothing around their home, but now she was dressed for battle, complete with over-sized Akatsuki cloak. She didn't have to say a word for him to figure out what she wanted.

"No." he said, without her even asking.

"Please, Tobi!" Rin begged, It's been a long time since I've gone on a mission! I promise I won't get in the way! And I won't use my jutsu on anyone but me! Please!"

"You know how I feel about you being near danger."

"Pleeeease!"

"You know, Tobi," Spiral butt in, "It _is_ a simple mission. If you're going to take her on a mission, this would be the safest one."

That was true. Plus it meant he'd get to spend more time with her.

Tobi sighed, "I guess."

"Yes!" Rin cheered, jumping up and down.

"But we have to hurry," Tobi said, "Since I can't just transport now, it's going to take longer to get there. Spiral, you should come too then since Rin is going."

"Yes, sir!" Spiral agreed and hopped inside him.

-x-

"So, what's our mission?" Rin asked as they ran through the trees.

"Recently, another Akatsuki member battled a shinobi from the Leaf Village." Tobi told her, "He won of course, but apparently the enemy sent a secret message back to the Leaf."

_So that means, _Rin thought, looking determined, _...we're going to Konoha._

"Quietly." Tobi whispered to her as they reached the Leaf Village.

Rin looked up at the large walls she once lived within. She was glad she came along for this mission, but her goal was no longer finding the secret message. From the moment Rin realized she was going to Konoha, she gave herself a new mission. She knew Tobi wouldn't approve, but she had to find a way to succeed.

"Maybe we should split up," Rin suggested.

"No." he quickly replied.

"We'll find the message faster if we do." she persuaded, "I'll be fine. If I find it, I'll just keep an eye on it. I won't act until you arrive."

"Rin."

"I won't fight, I promise."

"Rin."

"C'mon, Tobi! It's just walking around a village!" she said, "How hopeless do you think I am?!"

"Fine." He sighed, then laid down the rules, "Do not engage the enemy for any reason. Do not speak to anyone. Do not try to battle anyone. If, for any reason, you need to use your barrier, remember that you have two small ones or one large one. If you're in danger just scream, I'll be listening out and I'll hear you. I'll go to you immediately."

"Yes, _dad_." she mocked for his over-protectiveness, "Anything else?"

"Take Spiral with you."

"What?" Rin forgot Spiral was even with them when she calculated her plan, "No way!"

"Yes. He'll protect you-"

"From who? The ramen guy?! It's a village, Tobi, not a battlefield."

"It's a village filled with Leaf Shinobi!"

"I'll be fine, Tobi. I can handle myself."

Tobi gave up. "You're right," he said, "It's just a village, and you've been training a lot lately. I'll go check the Hokage's office. You check the watchtower."

"Alright!" Rin chimed, and ran off.

When she was hearing distance away, Tobi said, "Follow her."

"Got it!" Spiral replied, peeling out of him.

-x-

Rin ran quickly through the village. She ran in empty alleys to avoid contact with anyone.

_If I remember correctly,_ _it should be right around this corner._

Rin turned, entering the cemetery. She hid in the trees, getting closer to Obito's grave.

_ It's been so long since I've visited you,_ she thought, reaching his row. Rin was about to step out of the trees, when she paused, noticing someone kneeling at Obito's grave.

_ Who's that?_ She wondered, watching as the man stood up. The man was thin, but lean. His spandex mask covered all but one eye, and his silver hair spiked out. No doubt about it: the man was Rin's old teammate.

_ ...Kakashi._ Rin thought, watching him. The last time she saw him he was a short teenage boy. Now he was a tall man, not as tall as Tobi of course, but still taller than herself.

"I can tell someone's there." Kakashi called out.

_How?!_ Rin took a step back, going deeper in the trees.

"The cemetery is big enough for two people." he said, "So there's no need to hide. That is, unless you're an intruder."

_Shit! I can't let him see me!_ Rin turned, and began to run away. He found her easily with his Sharingan, and suddenly, Kakashi jumped in front of her.

His tough expression immediately melted into a surprise. Rin stood quietly, watching his eyes stare blankly at her. His mask was pulled down to his nose, revealing his Sharingan eye that she, herself, implanted into him so many years ago. What seemed like forever went by of him just staring at her. Rin could only imagine what was going on in his mind.

"...R-Rin?!" He managed to say.

Her face was emotionless, she wasn't sure how to feel, and she replied quietly, "...Hey."

"You're alive!" He exclaimed.

"I'm aware of that." Her voice was low.

"How?! I thought I... I..."

"Killed her?" a voice from above replied.

They both looked up to find Tobi standing, arms crossed, on a branch.

_ Tobi!_ Rin thought, _How did he find me?_

It wasn't until Kakashi saw Tobi that he realized Rin, too, was in an Akatsuki cloak.

"Akatsuki?" Kakashi asked, looking at Rin.

She shrugged her shoulders, "It is what it is."

"But why?" he asked, "How?"

"I'm assisting them achieve peace." she answered. It felt like a lie though, as she hasn't really contributed much, "Peace was Obito's dream, well, before he sacrificed himself for us."

"You're doing this for Obito?!" he yelled, shocked to think the sweet innocent Rin he once knew was in Akatsuki for the sake of Obito's dream.

"I don't need you judging me." she said, "I'm going to see to it that his dream comes true, no matter what the cost."

Tobi jumped down, landing feet away from Rin.

"C'mon, Rin." he told her, "We're done here."

She nodded and turned to him.

"Wait!" Kakashi called out.

Rin faced him.

"Rin, please!" Kakashi said, "...Don't go."

"Don't do this Kakashi." she replied.

"Stay with me." he continued, "I've thought of you every day since your death- well, since the day I thought you died. Please, Rin, stay with me. Anything you did with Akatsuki, it can be overlooked."

"Kakashi, don't."

"I miss you. You don't belong with them. You belong here, in the Leaf Village. You belong with me, Rin."

"Kakashi."

"I'll protect you this time, I swear!"

Tobi's hands tightened into fists. Seeing Kakashi pour his heart out to Rin angered him. Rin had told Tobi all about Kakashi one night. Tobi knew how much she liked him when she was younger, he also knew Kakashi practically killed her years ago.

"You want to achieve Obito's dream?" Kakashi continued with his hand out to her, "Come with me. We'll achieve it together."

It made perfect sense for Rin to go with Kakashi. If she could fulfill Obito's dream, why not do it with the  
third member of their team? Rin stood in between both Tobi and Kakashi, deciding what to do.

"It's what Obito would want." Kakashi told her.

Rin looked at Kakashi, then at Tobi. Tobi wasn't even trying to convince her to go with him. He just stood there, watching her. On the inside though, Tobi was a wreck.

_ I knew I shouldn't have brought her! _He thought to himself.

_Maybe she won't choose him. _Spiral thought back from inside him.

_Of course she's going to choose him! _Tobi replied, _...She's always loved him..._

Rin's heart ached. She knew choosing Kakashi was the seemingly best choice. She knew if she went with him, he would love her this time. He would cherish her. They could be a team again, and together they would bring peace for Obito. This was the perfect scenario for her, if only it had been months earlier. But now, Rin's heart lay elsewhere.

Rin faced Kakashi.

_See?_ Tobi thought, _I knew it._

"I'm sorry." Rin told him.

_Rin?!_ Both Kakashi and Tobi thought.

Rin turned to Tobi, and began walking to him.

"Let's go." she said lowly as she passed him quickly, walking away from this horrible situation fate has put her in.

"I can't just let you go." Kakashi called out. Suddenly, branches erupted from the ground below him and caged him down.

"Try to stop us." Tobi challenged. He turned away, following Rin.

-x-

The way home was silent. Rin didn't say anything as her thoughts were still behind with Kakashi. Tobi, knowing her silence meant she was upset, didn't say anything either. He felt happy though, being able to run beside her again. He almost lost her to stupid Kakashi.

"Did you get the message?" Rin broke the silence when they were almost home. The sun was setting around them.

"I was too late." he answered, "Apparently the message was coded, and they figured it out just as I got there."

"I'm sorry." Rin said, "If I hadn't gone with you, you would had made it there on time."

"It's okay." he replied, "The message wasn't that important. It shouldn't affect our plan in any way."

_I didn't even get to visit Obito's grave._ Rin thought.

"I'll admit," Tobi brought up, "I was a little surprised that you chose Akatsuki over Kakashi."

Rin halted. Tobi stopped too, a couple feet in front of her. He turned around to face her.

"...Is that what you think?" she asked quietly.

Tobi didn't respond. Rin looked at the ground, and put her hand to her heart. Had she made the wrong decision after all? Was just a slight chance of Tobi worth not returning Kakashi's feelings? Her heart made the decision, so it must be right.

"I didn't choose _Akatsuki_ over Kakashi." she said. Rin looked up at Tobi, "...I chose _you_ over Kakashi."

-x-

A couple days passed, and Rin was outside gathering flowers. It was late morning, and today Tobi had been extra secretive. Things were very quiet, which was odd with all the Zetsus around, and Tobi was in his office all morning.

_ He's always so stressed,_ Rin thought grabbing more flowers, _maybe these will brighten up his day!_

She picked a couple more, then stood up.

"I'm done!" she called out to Spiral.

He was a couple yards away, keeping an eye on her. Rin couldn't be alone anywhere without him or Tobi. Even when she used the bathroom, Spiral would stand outside the door. She'd wake up a couple times in the night from nightmares, and swore she'd see him quickly forming away.

"You know," Rin told him, arranging the flowers in her hand, "you don't have to be here. I'm only ten feet away from the door."

"Or ten feet away from death!" He exclaimed, walking up to her, "Black Zetsu could be anywhere!"

She scoffed and walked inside. Rin picked up the pace in the hallway, attempting to lose him. She placed the flowers in a vase, poured in some water, and made her way to Tobi's office. His door was closed, and Rin could just barely hear Zetsu's voice. She tiptoed, listening intently.

"Nagato is doing great," Zetsu said, "Already, all of Kono-"

He abruptly stopped. There was silence for a moment, until Tobi called out, "What is it, Rin?"

_Damn!_ Rin thought, _He always knows._

She slowly opened the door. Tobi was at his desk. Zetsu was half-formed into the room, his upper body sticking up from the ground.

"Um, I brought you these." Rin told him nervously. She placed the vase on his desk, "I just thought they could brighten up the room."

"Thank you." he said impassively.

_Well that didn't sound like he meant it,_ she thought. Rin stood there for a minute, and no one spoke. She walked to a bench a couple feet from his desk and sat down. Zetsu and Tobi were just watching her silently. Rin fiddled her thumbs a little. The awkward feeling didn't let up, then Rin realized.

_ Are they waiting for me to leave?!_ She thought.

They were still looking at her quietly.

"Well!" Rin stood up, feeling a little insulted, "I know when I'm not wanted somewhere." She walked out and closed the door behind her. Rin stood in the hallway, leaning against the door, waiting for them to continue their conversation.

"He knows you're still there!" Zetsu called out.

Rin sighed and walked away.

The next couple of hours she tried to keep busy. Rin washed her laundry, and hung it outside to dry. She studied the medical books she bought at the market with Tobi. No matter what she did though, Rin's curiosity would form at today's mysteriousness.

"Want to hang out?" Rin asked Spiral when she could no longer entertain herself.

They went outside to the grassy hills below Tobi's bedroom window. Rin merrily ran through the grass, her brown hair dancing in the wind. Spiral ran too, and cheered, "I can feel wind in my hair!"

Rin laughed. Spiral was always so goofy. Rin dashed to the tip of a tall hill. The bottom was far below. Carefully, Rin spread her arms out to her sides, closed her eyes, and slowly leaned forward against the strong breeze. She didn't fall, but instead floated from the wind.

Spiral watched her; she was smiling, she was happy. Rin leaned forward more.

The wind died down, and as gravity corrected itself, she began to fall. Spiral grabbed her arm, and pulled her back up to safety.

"Thanks." she said.

They sat down on the soft grass. Rin became lost in her thoughts as usual.

_I wonder if Tobi doesn't like the flowers,_ she thought. Her mind was once filled with sorrow and tragic memories, but now it was pushed away as Tobi occupied space in it. Rin felt a little guilty that she didn't think of Obito as often anymore. Rin loved him, but she knew she was truly beginning to have feelings for Tobi as well.

Spiral could tell something was bothering her.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Rin smiled a fake smile, "My heart is difficult." She held a butterfly at the tip of her hand. "Spiral," she asked, "You feel emotions, right?"

"Of course."

"Have you ever ...loved someone?"

Being artificial, Spiral didn't have any parents, family, or anyone. Did he even know what love was? Spiral was quiet.

"I'm sorry." Rin said, "That was a little personal."

"No, it's fine!" He replied cheerfully, "I do have emotions and feelings, but not such a silly human feeling like love."

_ I guess love_ is _silly._ Rin thought to herself. The butterfly left her hand, and she watched it flutter away. She noticed Spiral watching her.

"What?" Rin asked.

He looked away, "Nothing."

They went back inside, and Spiral went to the kitchen to start dinner. Curious how Tobi was doing, Rin made her way to his office. The hallway was so quiet, Rin could practically hear her own heart beating. She stood a couple feet from the door, underneath a candle mounted on the wall. Rin could just barely hear Zetsu's voice. She focused on each sound to try and make out the words.

"...he just used it to revive everyone." Zetsu said quietly.

_ Revive who?_ Rin thought, listening still. There was no more talking after that, and Tobi's office was eerily silent.

_ What were they talking about?_

The door suddenly slammed open, causing Rin to jump. Tobi came storming out into the hallway.

_Oh no! He knows I was listening!_

Rin looked up at the candle.

"Yup, this candle is definitely lit!" She said nervously, "Because that's what I was doing here. Checking on the candle. Nothing else."

Tobi strode directly passed her.

_ Man, he's such a hothead, _she thought, sighing, _Once he gets angry ...oh boy. Whatever just happened definitely pissed him off._

**BOOM! **There was a loud explosion in the other room. Rin ran towards the rumbling. There was dust settling in the room, and as it cleared Rin could see one of the stone walls was almost completely missing. Tobi was facing the massive hole, his fist out at it.

_ D-Did he just punch through the wall?!_

Zetsu and Spiral were a couple feet behind him, watching. Everyone was silent. Knowing Tobi's temper, it was best not to speak to him while he was so angry. They were all aware of that fact, but of course the big-mouth had to speak.

"I always did say we needed another window in this room." Spiral said.

Tobi shot him a glare.

_Spiral, no!_ Rin thought.

"I mean it's a little big," Spiral continued, hands on his hips, "You're definitely no carpenter."

Tobi faced him. "Not. Now. Spiral." he growled.

"But look at all the debris you made!"

"Spiral."

"You're going to make me clean it up! You always make me clean up after you! So lazy!"

"I'm warning you!" Tobi yelled.

"Spiral!" Rin muttered harshly, "Stop it!"

"Well I'm not cleaning it this time!" Spiral argued, "You can just do it yourself! Lazy!"

"I don't know who you think you are-" 

"I'm Spiral!" He replied.

"That's it!" Tobi shouted, "You're dead!"

Tobi charged towards Spiral. The other Zetsu clones formed into the room, creating a large crowd around the 4 of them.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" they cheered.

"SHUT UP!" Tobi yelled. They all quieted down immediately. Rin ran in front of Tobi to stop him.

"Tobi!" she pleaded, "Don't you think that's going a little overboard?"

"Please move." he said, mustering his last bit of patience.

"...no." she answered.

Using his Kamui, Tobi walked through Rin and continued towards Spiral.

Dammit! She thought.

Spiral put his fists up in a fighting position. "Let's dance!"

In a quick swift motion, Tobi grabbed Spiral by the neck and slammed him into the wall.

"I was kidding!" Spiral cried.

"Spiral!" Rin ran to his side and put up a barrier around herself and Spiral. Because Tobi was already holding him, the barrier also formed around his arm.

_ It's no use!_ She thought. Rin removed the barrier, and tugged on Tobi's other arm.

"Please!" Rin cried, "Don't do this, Tobi!"

"I'm outta here!" Spiral said, and began to form away into the wall. Tobi's hand prevented him from completely escaping.

"Oh no you don't!" Tobi growled and, by his neck, ripped Spiral back out from the wall. Tobi slammed him against it again.

"Spiral!" Rin cried.

Spiral grabbed his hand attempting to break away, but Tobi's grip was too strong. Spiral began choking.

"I-I ...c-can't ...breathe!" he struggled to say.

"You don't have any lungs!" one of the Zetsus called.

"Oh yeah!" Spiral said with a chuckle.

"That's it!" Tobi growled, "I'm going to squeeze your neck until your head pops off!"

"Aaah!" Spiral cried.

_I can't protect Spiral,_ Rin thought, _and it's obvious I can't fight Tobi... Maybe there's one more thing I can do..._

Rin reached into her back pocket and pulled out a kunai. "Tobi." she called, pointing the knife to her heart.

She immediately got his attention.

"You wouldn't." he told her.

Rin slightly dug the kunai into her, the tip just barely piercing her skin.

Tobi tested her, slamming Spiral into the wall even deeper.

_ Damn!_ Rin thought, _He knows I'm bluffing!_

"Thanks a lot, Rin!" Spiral called sarcastically as he was being crushed.

Rin put the knife away. "Please, Tobi!" she begged, "I know he's an idiot but don't kill him! He's still a Zetsu, don't you need as many Zetsus as possible?"

"I'll be fine without him." he answered simply, and squeezed Spiral's neck tighter.

That's when Rin remembered. "He saved me today!" she cried.

Tobi looked at her. She could feel herself getting the upper hand.

"Yea. That's right." she added, "I was falling and he grabbed me! In fact, he watches over me all the time! Who knows what would have happened to me by now if he wasn't here with me when you're gone. If you kill him, there will be no one here to protect me when you're out."

Rin gently grabbed Tobi's other arm.

"Please, Tobi." She said softly, "Let him go, ...for me."

Tobi grunted, but didn't look away from her pleading eyes. He removed his hand from Spiral's neck. Spiral stayed there, stuck in the wall.

"Thank you, Tobi!" Rin told him gratefully.

Tobi began walking away, when Spiral climbed down.

"Hmph!" Spiral said, dusting himself off, "I could have taken him!"

"SPIRAL!" Rin screamed to shut him up.

Tobi stopped in his tracks. He waited a moment, and instead of returning to Spiral to finish the job, he decided to keep walking away. Rin let out a long sigh of relief.

-x-

The rest of the night was quiet. Tobi avoided Spiral to control himself from killing him. It's been days since that night, and Tobi was leaving yet again. Tobi went to Rin that morning to say good bye.

"I don't suppose I can go?" She asked.

"Sorry, Rin, but there's something important I have to do today." he told her, "It's too dangerous for you. Maybe next time."

"You always say that."

"I'll be seeing you soon," Tobi said and transported away.

Rin sighed and went searching for something to keep her busy. She made breakfast with Spiral, played card games with some of the Zetsus, and picked more flowers to bring inside. The day was long. Dinner was lonely, as it usually is when Tobi is gone. Rin showered and Spiral, who was waiting outside the door, walked her to her bedroom.

"Don't worry, Rin." he told her, "I'm sure Tobi will be back any moment now."

"I hope so." she replied, "Good night."

Rin closed her door and crawled into bed. She laid on her side, looking up at the moon.

_Are you thinking of me, Tobi? I don't want to sleep without you here._

Rin tossed and turned all night. She didn't sleep one bit. Her mind kept her awake with all sorts of questions and thoughts. She wondered what Tobi was doing, and if he was okay. She remembered her recent reunion with Kakashi. She thought about Obito, and how life would be right now if he was alive. She imagined him as Hokage, and her as his assistant. Rin couldn't help but feel guilty for thinking of Tobi so much lately instead of him. For years she mourned Obito; carrying the sorrow in her heart, haunted by her imagination playing fake scenarios of her saving him. But now, she found someone who made her think happier thoughts. It's true Tobi was a little rough around the edges (and his temper definitely wasn't something to take easy), and though he's never shown Rin any true affection, she can feel it. The way he protects her. The way he watches her. The way he hurts when she is hurting. He didn't have to admit a word of his feelings to her, Rin could just feel it.

The sky was becoming pink and she could tell the sun was rising. Rin sighed, not having slept a minute.

_ Oh well._ She thought, and changed out of her pajamas. Rin was slipping her shoes on when she heard the sudden commotion outside her bedroom. She ran out and through the hallway.

"Oh, good! It's Rin!" Spiral exclaimed, "She can help!"

Spiral was helping a very injured Tobi to his bedroom. Zetsu watched, looking worried.

"Tobi!" Rin cried, running to his side, "What happened?"

"Nothing. Everything is fine!" He said, struggling to his door. His right arm was missing again, he had wounds all over, and his mask was broken enough to reveal both eyes.

"Let me heal you!" She told him.

"No!" he yelled and pulled away from Spiral. Tobi sighed, calming himself, "I mean, no. I just want some rest now. I want to be left alone please."

Tobi stumbled into his room. He closed and locked the door behind him.

"Fine." Zetsu said and formed out of the room. Spiral followed right behind him.

_"Fine"?_ Rin thought, _No this is not fine! He's hurt and it's my job to heal him!_

Rin ran to her bedroom and collected medical supplies and medicine. She put them in her pouch, and strapped the pouch to her hip.

_He locked the door, so I'll have to find another way in, _She thought, looking out her window, _...That's it!_

-x-

"Zetsu!" Rin called cheerfully on the grassy hills, "Just the man I wanted to see!"

"Me?" he asked.

She ran up to him. "Yes, silly! I was wondering if you could do me a favor or two...?"

"Sure, Rin. What can I help you with?"

Rin laughed nervously. "Well," she said, "I sort of need to get up there..." Rin pointed to Tobi's bedroom window, over 100 feet above them. "Can you help me? ...Please?"

"I don't think Tobi wants anyone in there."

"But he's hurt. I need to help him."

"I don't think he wants anyone's help."

Rin became a little irritated, "He's just being too stubborn to swallow his pride and ask for my help!"

"He's a big boy. He can take care of himself."

_ Man!_ Rin thought, _I just had to find the most stubborn Zetsu, didn't I?_

"Fine!" Rin said, walking to the wall, "I'll just climb this, and if I get hurt Tobi will blame you."

Zetsu scoffed and crossed his arms, "Tch! Even if I did help you, how on Earth would I get you up there?"

Rin grinned at him.

-x-

"Please stop fidgeting." Zetsu said, halfway up the wall.

"Sorry!" Rin replied, "I'm scared I'm going to fall!"

"You're going to fall if you keep fidgeting."

It wasn't easy for Zetsu to carry Rin up the wall, piggy-back style. She kept looking over her shoulder and flinching at the height they were at. Zetsu's legs mid-thigh and lower were formed into the cliff. He slowly walked up, perpendicular to the wall.

"Almost there!" Rin encouraged.

"If he gets mad that you're in there, you're on your own!"

"I know." She said, "I won't rat you out, I swear!"

They were just under 6 feet from the window, when they paused.

"Why'd you stop?" Rin asked.

"I'm tired!"

"We're practically there!"

"Just give me a minute."

"I don't have time for this!" She said. Rin swung herself over him, straddling onto his pelvis.

"Too heavy! Too heavy!" Zetsu warned, his back falling at the sudden change. Before they could fall, he leaned forward and formed his hands into the wall to give her more support. Their faces were inches apart.

"You couldn't have waited one minute?" He asked, clearly irritated.

"Sorry." Rin smiled.

"If I were human this would be very awkward." Zetsu mumbled about their positioning.

"If you were human I never would had moved up here." she assured him.

"At least no one is around to see this." he said with a sigh.

"HEY! HEEEEEEY!" a voice below called.

Rin looked over Zetsu's side. Zetsu leaned backwards, flattening his back, and arched his neck until his head was hanging upside down.

"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING UP THERE?" Spiral shouted.

_I'm trying to get Rin in Tobi's room! His door is locked!_ Zetsu told him telepathically.

"IF TOBI SEES YOU WITH RIN LIKE THAT HE'S GOING TO KILL YOU!"

_ Then stop yelling before you wake him!_ Zetsu replied.

Rin impatiently sighed and began to stand on Zetsu's abdomen.

"What are you doing?!" he whispered harshly, looking up at her.

"You're taking too long." she answered lowly.

_I'm almost there!_ Rin thought, her fingers inches from the window sill. She went on her toes, but it wasn't enough.

"Maybe if I jump..." she wondered out loud.

"Don't even think about it!"

But of course, despite how far up they were, she did it anyways. Rin clung onto the sill as best as she could.

_ I'm slipping, I'm slipping!_ She realized.

"Rin!" Spiral and Zetsu cried.

Zetsu leaned forward, his chest parallel to the wall, and reached up to catch her. His hands grabbed her hips, but she kept slipping and fell into a sitting position. She landed sitting a top his head. Zetsu put one hand on her back, to prevent her from falling backwards, and one hand into the wall for support. He let out a long annoyed sigh.

"Thank you, Zetsu." Rin whispered, "I'm really sorry about that!"

"Just hurry up please." He was obviously uncomfortable with her butt on his head.

"THAT'S WHERE HER POO COMES FROM!" Spiral shouted from below.

_ Thank you, Spiral!_ He told him sarcastically.

Zetsu climbed up the wall a couple more inches. It was more difficult now with the position they were in, but it was now high enough for Rin to reach the window. She quickly climbed into Tobi's bedroom.

Exhausted, Tobi was in a deep sleep on his bed. By looking at him, Rin could tell he just threw himself on the bed and was unconscious immediately. She looked out the window at Zetsu, and motioned him to go up there. He sank into the wall then reappeared in the room from the floor.

"What?" he whispered.

"Um," Rin scratched her head nervously, "Well, Tobi needs an arm..."

She knew it meant this Zetsu clone would permanently infuse into him. Rin felt bad; she knew there was more clones of him, but doing this felt like killing him.

"It's okay." he told her, seeing the worry on her face, "It's just a clone dying. My spirit is still in the other clones. In fact, right now I'm downstairs arguing with one of my other clones about a card game. I'm also having an arm wrestling tournament with a couple others. As long as there's one of me left, I'm still alive."

Rin smiled, "That's true."

"I'll still remember the shenanigans you just put me through too." he smirked.

Zetsu walked up to Tobi. "See you later, Rin." He formed into Tobi's body. Tobi's new arm was a mixture of both his skin color and the pale white color of Zetsu's.

Rin undressed everything on Tobi but his pants and mask. She was careful to do so, and Tobi was too deep in sleep to waken from it. She healed his injuries for hours. It was around noon that she finished.

_All done,_ she thought, looking at Tobi, _His mask is broken again though..._

_ I always have wondered what he looks like..._

She touched his mask with her fingertips.

_ No!_ Rin pulled her hand back, _He wouldn't like that._

_ ...But this could be my only chance..._

She touched his mask again.

_ No!_ Rin told herself and retracted her hand back, _If he wants me to see, then he will show me himself!_

Rin grabbed her medical supplies and put them back into her pouch. She strapped it on, and headed to the door. Rin unlocked it, grabbed the knob, then paused...

_Okay just one little peek!_

She ran back to Tobi's unconscious body. Rin reached for the mask. She felt her breathing increase. The mask was smooth against her fingers. Her heart was racing in her chest.

Very carefully, Rin removed Tobi's mask.

_ There._ Rin thought to herself, looking at his face, _By his features, he's definitely an Uchiha. I don't know why he hides behind that mask though, he's quite handsome._

Rin gently held his face in her hands. She rubbed her left thumb against the scars on his face.

_ Maybe it's these scars,_ Rin thought, _I wonder how he got them..._

Rin looked at him a moment longer. Yea, half of his face was scarred, but he was beautiful, and Rin could feel herself wanting him even more now.

_ I can't help but think he looks familiar though,_ she thought.

**_Kakashi ...please ...take care of Rin._**

Rin removed her hands immediately and stepped back.

_No... _She told herself, _...Obito's dead. He was killed!_

_ ...But the right side of Tobi's face is scarred, the same side that Obito was crushed on._

_ No! Obito is dead!_ Rin looked away. _It's not him!_

_Then why does he care about my safety so much?_

_ It's not him!_

_ Then why do they look so similar?_

With tears in her eyes, Rin looked back up at the familiar face.

_Oh my god..._ Rin cried, her chest caving in, _...It's him!_


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Sorry everyone. I'm getting these out to you as soon as possible, I swear. Every chance I get I'm typing. :) Thank you for reading and reviewing. :)

Eleven:

_My mask is gone!_

It was the first thing Obito noticed when he woke. The room was dark, the moon being the only source of light. Obito sat up and examined his new arm. His cloak was hanging on a chair, his under-armor was neatly folded on the table. He looked for any sign of his injuries, but he was completely healed.

_Rin…_ Obito thought, understanding that she was there, she healed him, and she saw his face. He was alone now, and all of his belongings were there. All of them but his mask.

He stood up and put his shoes on.

_Hopefully she didn't recognize me,_ Obito thought, _It's been so many years since that day after all._

He walked to his window. Down below on the grassy hills, Rin was sitting, her back to the window, looking up at the stars. Obito jumped down, and quietly made his way to her. He sat down next to Rin. She knew he was there, but she didn't look at him. Rin continued watching the stars. Obito noticed the cracked mask nestled on her lap in her hands.

_She kept it, _he thought, _She wanted me to know that she saw my face. That means, …Rin recognizes me._

Obito didn't want her to find out, but if she did, he hoped it would be a happy moment. She would cry tears of joy, and he would hold her. But that was just a fantasy. Now the real Rin knew the truth, and he could see a mixture of pain and betrayal in her face.

"…Rin," he said gently, "…I'm so sorry."

No response. They sat in silence for a moment.

"I never wanted you to find out." Obito told her, "I never wanted to hurt you."

He didn't know what to say, honestly. He was unsure what to do. Obito wanted to fix this and make it better, but she wouldn't speak to him. She wouldn't even look at him.

"Rin, please say something…" Obito looked at the ground, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you …I just …I wanted to protect you."

A sniffling noise caught his attention. He looked back up at her. Rin was looking in the distance, but she was fighting tears back now.

Obito continued, "When I first saw you that day in the Sand Village, I wanted to keep you away from me, away from the pain I only seem to bring. But I also wanted to be selfish and keep you with me. I wanted you more than anything."

Rin's nose scrunched as the tears threatened to fall out.

"But I fought myself, and I fought these feelings," He told her, "Because I didn't want to hurt you any more than I already had, even if it meant never being with you. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't deny you."

Rin put her face in her hands, hiding her crying eyes.

"I finally realized…Rin," Obito said, "that I can't stop loving you, even if I wanted to."

Obito leaned over to hold her.

For years, no one has ever been able to hit Obito. But there they were; Rin's hand slapping his face, and him completely surprised. She turned away, and Obito touched where her hand hit.

"I deserved that." He told her, "I should have never lied to you-"

"I'm not mad about that!" Rin replied. She stood up to walk away, but Obito grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down to him.

"Then what?" he asked.

"Let me go!" She said, pulling away.

Obito grabbed her other wrist as well, and pulled her into him.

"Let go of me!" Rin screamed.

He held her wrists closer, bringing her face to his. "No!" he replied, "I let you go before and it was the biggest mistake of my life! I'm never letting go of you again!"

Frustrated, she continued to pull away.

"Rin. Rin, please." Obito said, trying to look her in the eyes as she kept looking away, "I love you."

Rin finally looked at him. She was trembling as tears fell down her cheeks. Rin opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She took a big shaky breath, looking into his eyes.

"…Then why didn't you come back for me?"

"…Rin." Obito said, _so that's what this is about._

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. She laid her head against his chest, and he rested his chin on her hair.

"Of course I came back for you." Obito told her, "I could never just forget you."

He began telling her about his survival on that terrible day. How he woke up to Madara, how he was just barely clinging to life. He told her about him meeting Zetsu and Spiral, and that his only goal was to return to her.

"Every minute of every day was such a challenge," he said, "Sitting up. Trying to stand. Doing anything with my body. But every day I remembered your smile."

Rin looked up at Obito, at the face that felt so familiar yet so distant from the years that transformed him into the man he was now.

"It was that memory I had of you that gave me the strength to keep trying, the will to come home to you."

Obito then told her about the day Zetsu saw her and Kakashi running from mist ninja. Spiral wrapped around Obito, and helped him get to them.

"I was too slow," he said with regret, "I should had gotten to you sooner."

Obito held her quietly, the next part of his story so difficult to tell. He looked away, clenching his teeth in anger.

"I saw him kill you." He growled.

"…But Obito, …I jum-"

"I know what you did!" he replied, "I heard all about it. But that still doesn't excuse his recklessness!"

Rin suddenly remembered, "Were you the one who killed all the mist ninja?"

Obito wasn't sure what to say. Rin had put him on this pedestal of righteousness for so long; he felt ashamed to admit to her that he killed countless people. But deep down inside, Obito knew he'd do it again if put in that situation. He'd kill anyone, without question, who endangered her.

Obito looked down at Rin, "After he killed you…," he said, "…I don't regret any of my actions after I saw that. But…"

"What?" she asked.

"You were dead… I was sure of it."

Rin realized he was curious of her own survival. "You're right," she replied, "…I _was_ dead."

Rin began her story.

-x-

It was years earlier, and Rin was a teenager. She opened her eyes and found herself in a cold dark room.

_Where am I? _

The room was all stone, even the bench she was on. She noticed bars caging her in.

_I'm in a jail cell? …Where's Kakashi?_

They were on a simple mission together, and the moment Kakashi left her alone, she became unconscious. So how did she get here?

There was a sudden loud roar. After a second, another roar, then another. Rin slowly walked up to the bars. Across from her, was a larger jail cell with a giant turtle-like beast inside of it. His arms and tails were chained down by large seals. Rin noticed his three long tails.

_…Sanbi?_ She thought.

There were two mist ninja inside his cell, laughing.

"What a pitiful weakness!" one snorted.

The other agreed and stabbed the Sanbi's left eye again.

The beast roared in pain once more as the men continued laughing.

_How awful!_

Another stab. Another cry of pain.

"Stop that!" Rin called, "You're hurting him!"

The men turned around and smirked. "Well look who's awake," one said. They walked out of Sanbi's cell and up to hers.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"You don't need to worry about that."

"Why do you have the Sanbi?"

"Oh, so you know about the beasts?"

"Hey," said the second man, "We should let someone know she's awake."

"Yeah, I guess." The other replied.

The two men walked out, and Rin watched the Sanbi from her cell.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

No answer.

"Can you speak?" Rin called.

No answer.

_I guess not._ Rin thought, turning to her bench.

A couple minutes later Rin heard talking outside her window. She stood up on the bench, peering out the small barred window.

"We have to wait until the Head Ninja arrives." One shinobi said, "He's forbid anything happen during his absence."

"And when will he be back?" asked another.

"He's on his way now from his previous mission," the first answered, "but he won't arrive for another day or so. Until then, I want the Sanbi completely guarded. We can't let anything go wrong... This is finally our chance."

The men scattered and Rin heard nothing the remainder of the day. The next morning Rin woke early to the beast's cries. She rose painfully, her muscles stiff from a sleep against stone. She walked to the bars and saw the same men torturing the Sanbi again.

"Leave him alone!" Rin demanded under the loud shrieks of pain.

"Shut up, girl!" one spat.

Rin growled, "No, you shut up!"

One of the men walked to her cell.

"You have a sassy mouth on you, you know that?" He said, entering her cell. He swung the door closed behind him.

Rin backed up against the wall.

"D-Don't come near me!" her voice quivered under her angry glare.

He strode up to her, his fist landing on her jaw and knocking her to the ground.

"It's about time someone put you in your place, woman!" he said, "You can't talk to a man so disrespectfully."

Rin wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. She looked up at him, "You pick on a defenseless animal, and hit a young woman a third your size. You're no man, you're a coward."

He kicked Rin under her ribs, then began to stomp her. She shielded her head with her arms, and closed her eyes. Rin felt a couple of hits to her ribs, one to the shoulder, two to her head, and back to her ribs. The attack seemed endless. When it was finally over he walked out, leaving Rin struggling for breath on the floor.

Rin laid there, recovering, before fading into unconsciousness. A clanking noise abruptly woke her later that night. She sat up immediately, defending herself. No one was around, but she noticed a plate of food outside her cell. Rin slowly crawled to it, her body aching. There was a small loaf of bread, and some rice on the plate. Rin gratefully shoveled handfuls of rice into her mouth, her stomach realizing how long it's been since her last meal.

With her mouth completely full, she looked across at Sanbi's cell.

_They didn't give him any food._ Rin realized.

Fighting the starving urge to eat all of it herself, Rin forced herself to leave half the rice and half the bread. As hard as she could, Rin slid the plate from her under her cell door, across and to Sanbi's cell. It stopped in front of him.

"It's not much," Rin said, "But it's something."

The Sanbi lowered his huge spikey jaw, allowing his mouth to open. His tongue slithered out, grabbing the food, plate and all, and brought it into his mouth.

"I don't even know why I'm here." She told him, "Or how I even got here, really." _And now I'm talking to a turtle._ She thought, feeling hopeless.

"Can you understand me?" she asked.

The giant turtle slowly nodded his head.

"Well, at least I have someone to talk to."

It was the next morning when the jail's door slammed open. Rin, startled, stood up from her light sleep on the cold floor. A line of mist shinobi walked in, the first one wearing a blue flak jacket with the words "Head Shinobi" stitched into it. They stopped outside Rin's cell.

"It's time." The Head Ninja said, staring at her.

_Are they going to kill me?_ She worried. Rin was dirty from sleeping on the floor and starving from such little food, but it was still better than being dead.

"Tie both of her wrists." He ordered. Two of the shinobi entered Rin's cell, tied a long rope to each wrist, and guided her out. They walked her to the Sanbi's cell.

"W-What's going on?!" Rin cried as they entered his cell and closed the door. Nobody answered her. It seemed they were all busy preparing something.

_Oh my god! _Rin thought, _They're going to sacrifice me to the Sanbi! That's why they haven't been feeding him! He's going to eat me!_

Suddenly, her wrists then her ankles were tied to posts. Rin stood, spread-eagle, a couple feet in front of the enormous beast.

"Let's get this over with!" The Head Shinobi called. The other ninja circled around her and the Sanbi and began various hand signs.

The Sanbi's chakra arose, glowing red all around him. Slowly, the chakra trailed to Rin, going into her abdomen.

_Is this his chakra?_ Rin thought, feeling her chakra levels gradually heightening as the red aurora flowed inside of her. _But, why?_

Rin's eyes widened as she finally realized what was happening. Before she could object or say a word, the Sanbi's chakra suddenly came rushing into her. The force of it pushed her, and her feet lifted off the ground. Had she not been tied down, Rin would have been launched backwards. Her body burned everywhere: her feet, her chest, her eyes, every inch of her was on fire. Rin could hear terrifying high pitched sounds; she was surprised to realize it was her own agonizing screams. The aurora poured in faster, and her insides began to boil. Rin's vision went black, but the sound of her screaming informed her of her consciousness. The agony went on for what seemed like forever, until Rin's body finally gave in and she became comatose.

-x-

_It's cold, thank god …I must be on the floor again…_

Rin's eyes painfully opened, her entire body screaming. She found herself staring up at the ceiling of the Sanbi's large cell.

_They didn't …did they?_

Rin focused on her chakra levels. They were dramatically higher than usual. She slowly sat up, body trembling, checking her surroundings. Rin was completely alone.

She stuttered, "…S-S-Sanbi-i…?"

_I'm here._ Rin heard a voice say. She turned around, but saw no one.

"…Where…?" she asked.

_They've sealed me inside of you._

The hairs on the back of Rin's neck stood up. Her earlier guess was right; she was now jinchuuriki of the 3 tails. His voice wasn't as deep and frightening as one would assume. He spoke softly and made no attempt to scare her.

"Well how do I get you out?!" She cried.

He sighed. _There's only three ways. One: by releasing my power you can transform into me, but only as long as your body can handle it, then I'll get placed inside you again. Two, I get extracted out, and three, if you die._

"How do I extract you?!"

_You can't. Someone else has to. But when they do, you will die._

Rin stared blankly into the distance as his words sank in. "So there's no way I'm getting out of this alive then?" She asked finally, "Why did this happen?"

_I'm not sure._

"Why me? Why not one of their own ninjas?"

The Sanbi didn't respond. Rin realized she was being insensitive, only thinking of her own feelings.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I'm sure getting sealed into some tiny human wasn't exactly the highlight of your day either."

No response.

"Are you still there?" Rin asked, frantically.

_Yes._

"Oh. Sorry, I'm not use to this." Rin said, "Well, since it looks like we'll be like this for a while, we should get to know each other. I'm Rin. What's your name?"

_My name?_

"Yeah. You have one, right?"

_Isobu._

"'Beach Stroker'?" She smirked, "That's a nice name."

An hour went by of them talking about different things. Rin told him she is a medic, and likes to help take care of the people she cares most for. Isobu told her he enjoys sleeping all day on the bottom of the ocean.

"You like the bottom of the ocean, but your name means beach stroker? Shouldn't you like the beach better?"

_Shouldn't you be ringing bells instead of being a medic? _He replied, referring to her name meaning bell.

She chuckled, "Alright, good point."

All of a sudden, Rin could hear mist ninja talking in the distance. Rin focused her new chakra in her ears, listening carefully.

"…and when she gets there she will lose control and attack Konoha for us!" one shinobi was saying.

"Oh no!" Rin gasped, "They want me to attack the Leaf Village!"

_I'm sure they meant me, not you._

"That's what I meant!"

There was an awkward silence between them. Rin wasn't quite sure how to feel. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life with someone she couldn't get along with, but how could she befriend him if he planned on attacking her home?

_I don't plan on attacking your home, _Isobu told her.

_ Damn! _Rin thought, _How did he know I was thinking that? It's like he was-_

_ Reading your mind?_

Rin gasped, _I need to be careful of what I think…_

"Well," she said, "how do I know you won't attack the village?"

_I don't plan on hurting anyone who isn't planning on hurting me._

_ That's right, _Rin thought, _He likes to keep to himself and sleep all day. How can someone just sleep all day? Seems pretty boring._

_ It's quite relaxing, actually. _He replied.

"Stop that!" she cried.

_Stop what?_

"Reading my thoughts!"

_Well I can't help it! Stop thinking so loud!_

Rin sighed, _This is definitely going to take some getting used to._

-x-

_Wake up. Something's going on._

Rin sat her aching body up. She rubbed her shoulder.

_Man,_ she thought, _this guy can talk to me even in my sleep?_

"What's happening?" Rin asked.

_I'm not sure. There's some sort of commotion going on outside. Listen._

Rin focused on the sounds. Something was definitely happening. Rin began to feel uneasy.

_The door!_ Isobu told her.

Rin hurried to the bars and looked at the dungeon's door. Not a moment later the door flew open, and a familiar face ran in.

"Kakashi!" Rin called gratefully.

"Stand back!" the silver-haired teen yelled, running to her cell. His hand glowed in blue sparks. "Chidori!" he yelled, slicing an opening in the bars.

Rin stared at him. She was completely shocked. He was in the same outfit from the day she was captured. He was dirty and unkempt. Rin realized then that the moment she went missing, Kakashi never stopped searching for her. His left eye was showing, revealing Obito's Sharingan.

"Hurry!" He called.

"There!" a shinobi shouted, standing at the doorway, "He's after the jinchuuriki!"

"Shit!" Kakashi said, and ran into the cell with her. He pulled out a kunai with a bomb tag and threw it at the wall. Kakashi shielded Rin from the explosion with his body. A large hole in the wall let in fresh air from outside. Kakashi grabbed Rin by the wrist, and jumped out just as the mist ninja entered the jail cell.

Rin's eyes burned from the sunlight. She couldn't see, but with Kakashi guiding her by her wrist, Rin kept moving her feet.

"'Jinchuuriki'?!" Kakashi asked as they ran, "What did they do to you?!"

Rin was quiet for a moment. " …the Sanbi." She said lowly.

_I should have gotten here sooner! _Kakashi blamed himself.

Rin's eyes adjusted to the light and she found herself on a rocky mountain. In front of her was nothing but the back of Kakashi's head. Rin carefully looked over her shoulder. Her eyes grew wide with horror.

In the distance, not a couple, not many, but an entire army of mist ninja pursued them. One suddenly shot a blast of water at them. Thanks to her new-borrowed chakra, Rin was able to react quickly. She jumped up into the air, pulling Kakashi with her. The water blast hit the ground below them.

When they landed, Rin's body reminded her how tired she still was. She stumbled, and without stopping, Kakashi pulled her back to her feet.

"Kakashi …you should know," Rin said, "They did this to me because they want Isobu to attack the village by using me."

"'Isobu'?"

"The Sanbi." She answered, "But he wouldn't do that! I'm sure of it!"

Another blast of water hit to the left of them.

"We can talk about it later!" Kakashi replied, trying to pick up the pace.

Rin looked behind them again. The mist shinobi were gaining on them.

"They're catching up!" She told him, watching the enemy still.

"There!" Kakashi said, suddenly.

Rin looked forward and saw a forest far off in front of them.

"We can lose them easier in the forest!" He explained.

A blast of water hit to the right of them, barely missing Rin.

_They're getting closer. _Kakashi thought, _I have to get her out of here! _He abruptly halted, and swung his arm forward, launching Rin in front of him. She staggered, and turned to him.

He pulled out a kunai and tossed her it.

"It's my last one. Take it and run away from here." Kakashi told her.

"What about you?!"

"I'll distract them! You keep running!"

Rin put the kunai in her pocket, and ran towards the trees. Her legs begged for rest with each step, but she kept pushing forward.

_Isobu!_ Rin called as she ran, _You said I can release your power and you'd come out, right?_

_Yes, _he answered, _But Rin-_

_Then come out and stop them!_

_Rin…_

_Kakashi is alone back there! How do I release your power?!_ She cried.

_You can't. _Isobu answered, _Your body is still too weak from becoming jinchuuriki._

_ I have to try! _

_No! _He replied, _You'd die before you could even finish transforming!_

Kakashi screamed and Rin stopped to check on him. He was bleeding from his shoulder and fending off the first shinobi that caught up.

"Kakashi!" Rin screamed.

"Go!" He yelled to her, as more ninja arrived to him, "I told him I'd always take care of you. Even if it means I die right here, I _will_ protect you! Now GO!"

_This is all because of me!_ Rin thought, running to the forest again. She knew Isobu wouldn't hurt her village, and when the mist ninja realize not only did their plan fail, but they equipped Konoha with another beast they will try to recapture her. _Even if Kakashi does protect me here, how long will it be until they come after me? Until they come after the village? They'll destroy all of Konoha looking for me. How many innocent lives will be lost then, just for my sake? How many parents will lose their children? _Rin remembered Obito and how lonely he was being an orphan, _How many children will lose their parents?_

Rin stopped for a second time, turning around. She watched Kakashi preparing his Raikiri.

_No, _Rin thought, reaching into her pocket, _I can end this right here._

_ It's going to take a lot more than a kunai to kill you._ Isobu said, reading her mind. _You're a jinchuuriki now, remember?_

_ Well, what can I do?! _Rin asked, still watching her teammate. He was focusing his chakra in his hand again, she could hear the blue bolts screeching still.

Rin suddenly raced to him. _Will this hurt you?_ She asked Isobu, knowing he already knew what she was doing.

_No, _the beast answered, _I'll die, but I'll revive after a while in the ocean._

Kakashi was attacking the enemy, but the ninja dodged. Kakashi flung forward at him, his Raikari leading the way.

_This is my chance! _Rin thought.

_Rin, I want you to know, _Isobu said unexpectedly, _You are the kindest jinchuuriki I have ever met. _He was reminded of the moment Rin stood up for him against the mist shinobi, even when it meant she was punished for it. When she fed him some of her food, though she herself was starving. And when he was sealed inside of her, instead of obsessing over the power she could steal from him, Rin wanted to be his friend.

Rin was in front of Kakashi now, his attack aimed for her heart.

_I hate to see such a kind human die like this._ He said.

At the last moment, the Sanbi shifted her body. Kakashi's hand dug into her, barely missing her heart. She felt nothing but pain for a moment, until the shock of the bolts numbed her body. She stared into Kakashi's bewildered expression.

Her sight quickly became dark. Rin had no idea blood was choking her numb throat, until she opened her mouth and it came pouring out.

"Ka…ka…shi…" she whispered, trying to apologize.

Isobu could feel himself fading away.

_Good bye, Rin._

-x-

Isobu opened his eye, viewing his surroundings. He was deep in the blue ocean.

_I wonder how long it's been, _he thought to himself, _I shouldn't have been dead too long since I was only sealed in her for almost a day._

He focused on his chakra levels, carefully measuring it.

_It seems like it worked, _Isobu thought, _The chakra I left in Rin's body isn't with me still... Hopefully, …that chakra was revived too…_

-x-

"There's a faint chakra!"

"What?! Are you positive?!"

"Yes! It's very weak, but it's there! I can feel it!"

"How is that possible?!"

"It's gradually increasing!"

"Begin CPR!"

"Ma'am, I have a heart beat!"

Rin was still in the darkness.

_Who is that? …Who's talking?_

"Is she alive?!" a familiar voice desperately asked.

_Minato Sensei?_

"Don't lose that heart beat!" the female voice demanded, "Increase all medical ninjutsu now!"

The voices slowly faded out.

-x-

Rin's eyelids finally lifted, and her eyes adjusted to the yellow blur in front of her. When she was focused, she saw her sensei looking down at her.

"How are you feeling?" He asked softly.

"…where am I…?" Rin's voice was hoarse. She didn't recognize the bedroom she was laying in.

Minato frowned, "The Sand Village."


	12. Chapter 12

A/n: WARNING: This story is rated M specifically for this chapter as most of it is "inappropriate". If you don't feel comfortable reading that kind of thing, then stop after the flashback when it cuts back to Rin and Obito. This was my very first time writing anything like this and boy, did I feel awkward the entire time. I still feel awkward now. Lol. I was aiming for it to be not dirty, but beautiful. Anyways it gets pretty detailed (and by "pretty detailed" I mean _**very**_ detailed), so just a warning to everyone. To those of you who actually like reading stuff like this, well I hope you enjoy it. :P I'll start writing the next chapter immediately, and I'll probably have it all typed up in 4-5 days. Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing. :)

I still feel awkward. LOL.

Twelve:

The moon was full, shining its white light down at them. Obito listened quietly as Rin was finishing her story. She told him how she woke up to Minato Sensei in the Sand Village, and that he explained how he found her. She began Minato's story that he had told her years before. Minato, a fellow leaf shinobi, and two medics arrived on scene that day, finding Kakashi unconscious, Rin's unresponsive body, and the bloody massacre of the mist ninja everywhere. The medics attempted to revive Rin as the gaping hole in her chest continued to bleed. One look at the wound and Minato knew it was caused by Kakashi's Raikiri. The medics pronounced Rin dead after 15 minutes of using medical ninjutsu.

"Please try a little more," Minato asked the medics, his heart sinking inside of him, "I've already lost one..."

"She is not responding to our healing whatsoever," replied one woman, "and we need to get the boy to a hospital as soon as possible."

Minato looked at Rin's pale face, guilt burning inside of him. He should have arrived sooner. He should have protected his last two students.

"I'll carry her," the other ninja offered, "and if Minato carries Kakashi, you two can keep trying to revive her as we go."

Feeling the grieving teacher's desperation, they all agreed to it. They ran in the rain. Kakashi, still unconscious, was on Minato's back and Rin was being carried in the arms of the other shinobi. The medics continued their attempt to revive Rin. No one spoke, but they felt their spirits grow more and more helpless the longer the futile healing went on. Suddenly, deep in Rin's body, a faint chakra began flowing in her. The group halted immediately, laid her down, and watched for a response. The chakra became stronger, and Rin's tired heart slowly pumped once.

Then twice.

And soon her heart was pumping with life again. Everyone was shocked, but the medics focused and increased their medical ninjutsu. Her wound began rapidly healing from the chakra in her. After stabilizing Rin's heart beat, they made their way to Konoha again.

In the hospital, Kakashi was put in his own room, still too exhausted to awaken. Rin was unconscious as well, and laid asleep as Minato and the Third Hokage looked down at her. Minato explained to the Third what happened when he arrived at the battlefield.

"Kakashi's Raikiri?" The Third asked, his deep voice relaxed as usual.

"Yes." Minato nodded, "I'm positive of it. But I don't know why he would do that. Since the death of their teammate, Obito, he's always tried to protect her."

"It doesn't seem like Kakashi to attack her," the hokage replied, "Perhaps the mist ninja had something to do with it. They could have thrown her in front of his attack, or used a jutsu to trick him into seeing her as an enemy."

"Or she could have purposely jumped in front of him to take her own life," a third voice suggested.

The two men turned around and saw Danzo walking into the room.

"And why would she do that?" asked the Third. His voice was still calm, but his eyes twitched as the sight of Danzo annoyed him.

Danzo smirked, feeling superior for the secret information he knew. "Because she didn't want the sanbi to attack Konoha."

"What are you talking about?" asked Minato.

"Explain yourself, Danzo!" the Third demanded.

"Some of my men happen to witness the battle." he answered, "Apparently the mist ninja sealed the sanbi inside of her, and not wanting to release him in Konoha, she purposely had her teammate kill her."

"You had men there?!" Minato asked, disgusted at the thought of Danzo's shinobi just standing by as Rin was killed.

Danzo shrugged his shoulders and looked at the Third Hokage, "Our agreement was that your shinobi and those of the Foundation would not interfere with one another."

The Third glared at him. This was all so typical of Danzo.

"Either way," Danzo said, closing his one revealed eye, "now that she is alive, we need to return her to the Mist Shinobi as soon as possible."

"What?!" Minato exclaimed.

"We will do no such thing." The Third stated.

"If the Mist finds out she is alive still they will come back for her-" Danzo explained.

"You can't be sure of that!" Her teacher defended.

"Why did they chose her of all the leaf shinobi in the first place? Why not a stronger ninja? Why not an important figure of the Leaf?" Danzo argued, "They wanted her specifically, and they will come back for her again!"

"Then we will protect her!" Minato yelled. He didn't care who Danzo was, or if he was Minato's superior; Minato would not sit back and allow anyone to treat his student so heartlessly.

"And put the entire village in danger for one girl?!" Danzo yelled back.

The Third intervened, his voice still calm. "It's our responsibility to protect the people of Konoha," he said, "and this young girl is included in that."

Danzo growled, "Tch! Her life isn't worth risking the lives of the villagers! She saw that, and so she tried to take her own life! Why are you too foolish to understand that?!"

The Third finally raised his voice, "She is not your responsibility, and as you've said the Foundation will not intervene with our matters! It is in my hands now and I will go about it as I see fit!" He took a breath, calming back down, "It is not up for discussion."

Danzo was quiet. Minato watched him with an uneasy feeling.

"Fine." Danzo said, "I will leave it for you to handle." He walked out of the room, and Minato and the hokage stood in silence.

Neither of them had to say it, they both knew. Whether it was from the Foundation's past actions, or just the look Danzo had as he left, they both knew he would now target Rin.

"It looks like we will have to protect her from more than we thought." The Third said, leaving the room, "For now, don't let anyone else know of her survival."

Minato's hands tightened into fists when he was alone with her. He looked down at his student, unsure of how to protect her. The idea suddenly hit him, and Minato quickly ripped the IV tubes from Rin's arms. He scooped her up, and carried her sleeping body to the open window. Minato jumped out and onto the roof, then Yellow Flash did what he does best; he disappeared at an instant before anyone could see.

-x-

The sun was rising the next morning when Minato arrived back at Konoha. He was alone, having left Rin in her new home. He also left a clone of himself with her, to help her recover until she awoke. Minato stopped in front of his home. He sighed, knowing he would have to explain everything to his wife.

"I hope you know what you're doing." a familiar voice called in the dark.

Minato turned around. "Hokage-sama," he said, kneeling down, "I didn't see you there."

The hokage was smoking his pipe as usual. He took a deep breath, then removed the pipe from his lips. "I went to check on your student..." he began.

Minato's heart raced, but he showed no fear as he continued to kneel.

Being the wise man the Third Hokage was, he already had an idea of what happened to Rin. Though he wasn't quite sure of the details, he knew Minato did something to keep her safe. "I know you're trying to protect her," the Third continued, "You really should have told me first before you acted."

"My deepest apologies, Hokage-sama," Minato said, kneeling further down.

The Third brought his pipe to his mouth, then away again.

"Stand up," he told Minato.

Minato stood. The Third wanted to look him in the eyes now to make sure he understood.

"I don't know what you have planned," he told him, "but when you left with her, I informed the Head Nurse at the hospital to fake her death."

Minato's expression showed his surprise.

"Apparently, Rin quietly passed away hours after our conversation." The Third told him, "Her body was unable to withstand the severity of her wounds, and when the Head Nurse went to check on her she found Rin deceased." The Third Hokage knew Minato wanted everyone to think she was dead. Then he could protect her from the Mist and Danzo.

Minato didn't know what to say.

"Her funeral is tomorrow morning," The hokage said, walking away, "Don't be late."

-x-

A small breeze picked up, making Rin shiver. Obito held her closer. They sat a few minutes, as her story sank in. Obito felt a mix of emotions. His heart longed for the warm feeling she gave him. Holding her, here and now, in his arms. His heart pumped a dull achy pain with each beat; his isolated heart trying to heal. But the darkness in him angered. Angered at this damned world that tried so hard to kill her. Angered at the ruthless people who toyed with her life and his life for the sake of war. He could feel the Uchiha curse growing inside of him, nurturing his power and tainting his heart; the curse of hatred.

"Are you okay?" Rin asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Obito's expression softened as he looked down at her. He could see a red glow reflecting in her eyes, and he realized that sometime during his thoughts his Sharingan had subconsciously activated. Obito blinked his Sharingan away, his eyes returning to their natural dark color.

"Yes." He answered, "We should probably go inside now."

The night had only gotten colder during their talk. A part of Rin wanted to bear the coldness if it meant staying in his arms, but she shyly agreed and they went back inside.

They walked throughout the dark home. Rin's mind was trying to quickly remember each word that was said in the past hour. Obito walked ahead of her, showing no sign of affection like when she knew him as Tobi.

**_"I finally realized, Rin...that I can't stop loving you, even if I wanted to."_**

Rin remembered the words exactly. When they were growing up together, Obito would wear his heart out on his sleeve for her, always showing his feelings for Rin. But now, he was different. Ever since she was reunited with him, Obito would show affection here and there, then close back up. And though now they were silent, Rin knew his heart was still with her.

They reached the hallway that separated their rooms. They stopped, and Obito looked at the floor.

"Good night, Rin." He said, avoiding eye contact with her.

"Wait." she called out.

There was an awkward silence between them. Rin wanted to say it back to him, especially after she slapped him earlier. Her toes curled as her whole body became nervous.

Obito waited quietly, still looking away. Rin put her hands behind her back, and stepped closer to him. She was directly in front of him now, hoping to get his attention.

She took a nervous breath, and finally said it back. "I love you too."

Obito's eyes immediately shot up, giving in to the beautiful face in front of him. He wanted, so badly, to kiss her, but he feared if he did he would allow himself to go farther than that. Obito didn't want to disrespect her.

"...Rin..." Obito whispered, not able to find the words to respond. His whole life he dreamed of her returning his feelings. And there she was. Standing inches away. Telling him she loved him.

Obito gently brought his hand to her face, lightly touching her soft skin. He was hypnotized in her eyes now, unable to look away. He could feel himself slowly getting closer, until he could feel her breath on his lips. Rin's heart trembled as she waited for his lips to touch hers.

_ Just a kiss._ He told himself.

Her lips were soft as he pressed against them. Rin closed her eyes, thinking of nothing but the way he felt against her lips. Obito didn't pull away, and his heart begged for more. He held Rin's face in both his hands, afraid she was just a dream that would dissipate if he let go. The longer the kiss lasted, the tighter he held her there. Rin pulled herself away from his grip, gasping for air.

"Sorry." Obito said, feeling a little ashamed.

Rin stood on her toes, reaching up a quick kiss at him. When she pulled away, she closed her eyes and grinned at him. Rin laughed nervously. She opened her eyes when she felt her body get pressed against the wall. Obito was looking deep into her eyes.

"Obito?" she asked before he pressed his lips against hers again. He put his hands on the wall on each side of her, as if caging her there. This kiss wasn't shy or careful like his first, but rather forceful. Rin melted at the touch of his lips. She enjoyed his bold move, as she was too shy to give more than a quick kiss. Obito ripped himself away when he knew she needed to breathe again, but this time he found himself kissing her neck.

_ Calm down, Obito._ He told himself as he kissed below her jaw.

A faint moan escaped her lips as he gently bit her neck. His hands turned into fists as he fought to restrain himself.

Rin folded her arms around his neck, as if trying to pull herself closer up to him. Obito grabbed the back of her thighs and lifted her up. Her back leaned against the wall and she wrapped her legs around his waist. His gentle bites became rougher with each one, desperate to hear that beautiful sound from her lips again. He was rewarded each time, the sound growing slightly louder.

Obito didn't realize he was carrying her until he reached the doorway to his room. Before the shame could stop him, he closed the door, laid her on his bed, and was on top of her. Rin put one hand on his back, and the other at the back of his head, hanging onto him as his teeth continued biting every inch of her neck. She was grateful for his advances. Spending so many years alone and hurt, she felt alive with his touch. He would always protect her, he would always save her, but now she needed him to save her from her loneliness. She wanted him to rescue her a way she's never been rescued before. Obito pulled away from her neck and looked down at her. Big mistake. The moment he made contact with her eyes, the guilt crept up around him.

_Stop it!_ He told himself, _She deserves better than this!_

Rin could tell he was trying to restrain himself, but she didn't want him to.

"I need you right now," she whispered softly at him, "...more than ever."

Obito stared down at her, realizing she was giving him permission. He softly kissed her lips again. As the kiss continued, he slowly undressed her from the waist-down. He pulled his mouth away, bringing her to sit up. He stared into her eyes as he carefully pulled her shirt up and off. His eye contact didn't break, as he didn't want to be rude by staring at her bare body. Rin trembled as her hands slipped behind her and grabbed the hook of her bra. Her heart raced at the thought of someone seeing her body. She felt a mix of excitement and fear. Her bra slipped off, and as shyness took over, she couldn't help but cup her chest with her hands to re-cover herself.

Obito sensed her nervousness. He allowed himself a look; all the way down her body and all the way back up, his sight taking in everything.

"You're beautiful." He told her softly when his eyes met hers again.

Her heart relaxed and she smiled, "Thank you."

Obito leaned down for another kiss, pushing her back onto the bed. She wrapped her arms around him again, and he had one hand holding himself up, the other slipping his pants off. She felt his bare legs against hers, and his stiff shaft laying atop her pelvis. The nervous feeling came rushing back to her and she pulled away from the kiss.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Rin was breathing heavy, trying to keep up with her racing heart. "I...uh..." she stuttered, "I just...I.." Rin looked away, "...I've never done anything like this before..."

He watched her expression, afraid to continue against her will.

"I'm nervous," she continued, "and I want you, I really do, and I want you to want me too. But I'm...I'm just a little scared..."

"You never have to be afraid anymore." Obito told her, "I'll always take care of you."

She was comforted by his words. In this world of war and death, she never felt safer than she did now. His body surrounding her, his strong arms around her, and she knew it would be like this from now on. He would rescue her tonight, and forever.

Rin kissed him once more, and he moved down to her neck again. He was biting her skin as his hand slipped to her thigh. He slowly opened her legs, planting his knees in-between them. He was sucking her neck, when Rin grabbed onto his back and braced herself. Her head leaned back and her fingers gripped onto him as he slipped into her. A moan left Rin as the sudden feeling of their bodies connecting overcame her. Obito went slow, suppressing his desire to be rougher; he knew she was nervous about her first time. Her legs squeezed against him, as if trying to close. She couldn't control it, and the challenging force made him want to push deeper. Her eyes rolled back as he stretched her insides. Obito watched her, as every move took her breath away. He enjoyed making her feel good. After a couple minutes, her legs and arms suddenly squeezed around him even harder. Her breathing became rapid. Obito was caught off guard by the sudden change, but his instincts had him moving faster. His knees buckled when he felt her insides tighten around his member. He kept moving, hoping to continue her pleasure.

Rin's toes curled as her bent legs unwound, and stuck straight up in the air beside him. She cried out his name.

The sound of her broke his self-control, and he was suddenly thrusting into her. Obito sat up, gripping one hand on her shoulder and the other on the headboard of the bed. Rin's hands spread to her sides, clawing into the mattress. He rammed himself into her faster, and she cried out to him again. Her heart raced and she couldn't keep up. The pace had her nervous again. Rin sat up, an attempt to suggest they slow down, but by her shoulder, Obito pushed her back down. His desires had completely taken over him now, and he would have her just as he wanted her. The wooden headboard threatened to break under his grip, but he continued on. Their hearts beating as one; two broken souls healing one another. Rin didn't know how much time passed (Minutes? Hours?), but now she could feel her body tightening again. She was breathing loudly when Obito gently asked if he was hurting her.

She cried out again.

He moved his hand from the headboard to her hip, pressing her against him. He maintained his fast pace. Rin's body constricted closer to him, and as her sight blanked, she screamed as her entire body simultaneously peaked. Watching her gave Obito the stamina he needed to carry on. Her body relaxed and she opened her tired eyes. Obito leaned down and kissed her. He moved his head beside hers, Rin could hear his heavy panting in her ear. He slowed down and pressed deeper, and deeper, then he held it. Rin's insides throbbed as she felt his member pumping seed into her. They laid as one for moment, Obito having no desire to disconnect from her. Exhausted, Rin was immediately asleep and Obito finally rolled over and laid beside her. He pulled her close to him, watching her sleep peacefully. Obito kissed her forehead, rested his face by hers, and closed his eyes to sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Hey everyone, sorry this chapter took so long. Remember a couple chapters ago I said I was sick? Well I ended up getting worse and worse, so bad I was hospitalized for a couple days. I started finally getting better yesterday so I began writing this, and typed it up today. I'll never just forget to update, so if it takes me a while to update please remember that it has to be something big to cause me to take so long. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter (I'm very excited for the war!), but again sorry for the long wait.

Thirteen:

Through the rest of the night, Rin was in and out of consciousness. She'd wake up to Obito's eyes, and his hands, so strong from so many years of training, gently pulling her close to love her again. They didn't speak. Words weren't needed at this tender moment. Rin looked at Obito's dark eyes and could see into him, but she didn't see the warmth his eyes glowed when they were children. She could see pain and suffering, the eyes of a man the world has turned it's back on. She wanted more than anything to take all that pain away and recreate the innocent Obito who stuttered at every word he spoke to her. Rin decided even after tonight, she'd continue to break down his walls. She'd force her way in, plant herself by his side, and make him know that everything was going to be okay.

Rin was missing Obito's warmth, and reached out to him. Her hands searched blindly in the sheets. When she registered his absence, her eyes shot open, stinging sunlight greeting her. She sat up and looked around her, but he wasn't there. Rin scratched her head, feeling the frizzy tangled mess of hair. She pulled the sheets to her, and walked out of the room, blankets dragging around her. Rin showered and changed. By the time she was finished, there was still no sign of Obito, in fact, there was no sign of anyone. The hallways were dark. She could hear her foot steps, a rarity in this home. The living room was empty. There was no one in the dining room. Where were all the Zetsus? Rin checked Obito's office, his large chair was empty. She ran into the kitchen, hoping to see Spiral cooking up some odd meal as usual, but the kitchen was untouched.

"Anyone?" She called out, continuing her way around, "Where is everyone?"

"Oh, you're awake."

Rin turned around and saw Spiral forming from a wall by her.

"Spiral!" she cried out with a huge smile, grateful to not be alone after all.

"I was given specific instructions not to wake you," he said, "But, boy, did you sleep!"

Rin could tell it was midday, "Not too long. Just a couple extra hours."

He shrugged his shoulders, "I guess if you call that 'a couple extra hours'."

" Where is-" Rin chose her words carefully, "...Tobi?"

"'Tobi'?!" Spiral was surprised. He walked away, hands on his hips, "If you slept with him without even knowing his name then I guess you aren't the kind of girl I thought you were."

"Wha...?" Rin walked after him, "Hey, I know his name! I just wasn't sure if he wanted you to know."

"I was the one who helped Obito come up with the name Tobi."

"It's very creative." she replied sarcastically, "So where is he?"

They entered the kitchen. "Oh," Spiral said casually, "He left yesterday."

"Uh, no he didn't." Rin told him, "Remember yesterday Zetsu helped me get into his bedroom? I was with him the whole day after that."

"Are you hungry?"

"Yes, please." She said, "So you remember it, then?"

"Of course I remember, that was the day before though."

"What?!"

"Yesterday morning Obito and all the Zetsu clones left. I stayed here for you of course, and Obito told me not to wake you. He said you were ..._very_ _tired_." Spiral giggled and snorted at the words.

Rin's face blushed with embarrassment.

"Anyways," he continued, Spiral was preparing food as they talked, "you slept through the entire day. I wasn't completely sure you'd wake up today either."

"He took all the Zetsu clones with him?" she asked, her mind trying to wrap around the idea, "Why? What is he doing?"

"Well," Spiral replied, "It's time."

"'Time'?" she asked, then putting it together, "...It's time ...it's time!" Rin became excited, "It's time! The dream! It's time! Finally!"

Spiral placed a plate of two fried eggs in front of her. Rin's excitement suddenly morphed into worry and anger. "And I'm sitting here!" she exclaimed, "It's time to achieve the dream and I'm sitting here!" She jumped off the stool and marched into the hallway.

"Wait! Rin!" Spiral called, "Your eggs!"

Rin entered her room and quickly changed into her medic outfit. Her shirt was two-layered, the bottom layer a black tank-top, the top layer a short-sleeve mesh shirt. She slipped on black tights that formed against her curves from her hips to her mid-calves. She strapped on a short purple medic apron at her hips, and zipped her shoes on. There was a knock at the door.

"Rin." Spiral called, "You should eat."

"Yea, sure." she replied, packing a medical pouch, "I just need to get ready first."

Spiral appeared from the ground, "Ready for?"

"To go help."

"Rin, you can't go. You know Obito won't like that."

"I'm going to go." she said determined, "Just because I know he's alive doesn't mean I don't want to do this still. I'm going to be there, standing by his side when he reaches his dream. I'll be watching him, ...I've always watched him."

Rin grabbed a second pouch, and filled it with small weapons.

"I'm not allowed to let you go." Spiral replied.

She rolled her eyes, it figured that Obito would tell Spiral to keep her there. "You won't be able to stop me." Rin grabbed her custom knife she received from Minato so long ago, tossed it in the pouch, then grabbed the picture of her old team. It was a little sad to think this entire time all three of them were alive, and just didn't know. Kakashi thought they were both dead, she thought Obito was dead and hopefully Kakashi was alive still, and Obito thought Rin was dead. But this entire time they were just walking different paths. Maybe if life had delt them different cards they could be working as a team, right now.

Rin agreed to eat, and Spiral served her more and more food as if to prolong her leaving. The entire time he tried talking her out of it, but Rin was not having it. She downed some orange juice, thanked him for the food, then stood up to go.

"Rin," Spiral said lowly, "I really didn't want to have to do this."

Before the branches shooting from the walls could grasp her, Rin immediately formed a barrier around herself. The branches stopped against the wall of chakra.

Spiral nervously scratched the back of his head, "I forgot you could do that."

Rin glared at him, then headed towards the door, her barrier still around her. Rin was outside, wearing a large purple cloak and deciding which way to go, when Spiral appeared beside her.

"Go away." Rin said looking forward and began walking.

"I'm sorry." he replied, "I won't try to stop you again."

"Yea right."

"I mean it," he said, "Just put down your barrier before you use up all your chakra."

"Oh I bet you'd like that, huh? You'd love for me to use up all my chakra, right?" she asked, "So then you could drag my exhausted body back home. Well, using my barrier like this is hardly using any chakra at all!"

"No, really." Spiral told her, "I want to help you."

"You want to help me?"

"Yes."

"Then show me the way to Obito."

-x-

They ran for hours. Rin didn't release her barrier, and Spiral didn't bug her again about doing so, or returning home. The terrain was changing as they went, and forest was thinning out now. The sun was close to setting.

"Okay, okay, your turn!" Spiral said.

Rin sighed, "It is? Again? Okay." She looked around, "I spy something gray."

"The mountains!" he answered.

"Yes."

"Okay," he cheered, "I spy somethi-"

"-You." She cut him off.

"I wasn't done! ...I spy something white."

"You."

"No wait, I mean, I spy something ...tall..."

"You."

"Something devilishly handsome."

"You."

"How do you always know?" he whined.

"You've chosen only yourself the past hour." she said.

He shrugged his shoulders as he chuckled. They halted as the ground began lightly trembling.

"What's that?" Rin asked quietly, beginning to feel threatened.

"We're getting close to the battlefield." He told her.

Rin wondered just how big the battle was. She knew Obito's dream was ambitious, and there was sure to be people against it. Maybe a couple people, even a whole group of people, but not too many.

There was screaming, yards to the left of them. Rin looked over, shocked to see two shinobi men kneeling on the floor with branches shooting out of their bodies in many ways.

THUD! Rin looked up and saw a man above her slamming a warhammer onto her barrier. She wasn't prepared for the attack, and her barrier began cracking. Rin stared at the giant weapon in fear. As her barrier shattered into tiny blue crystals, Spiral swooped in, grabbing Rin and carried her away as the warhammer smashed the ground. They landed further away.

"Sorry." Rin said, "You can put me down now."

She climbed down, then noticed the shinobi hurdling his hammer at her again. "Nevermind pick me up!" She cried quickly climbing back onto Spiral.

Spiral dodged the hammer again with Rin, and this time branches burst out of the man's chest and killed him.

"Whew! That was close!" Rin said and looked up at Spiral, "I guess you are pretty strong, huh?"

"Strong." He replied, "Smart. Funny. A fantastic chef."

"Alright, alright." Rin said.

Spiral looked forward, and suddenly began racing away from the area. Rin hung on, looking for any enemies.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"We're surrounded. They're almost here. We have to leave now."

"Can't you just do that branch thing to them all?"

"I don't have the chakra to do that to every one I see!"

"I thought you were strong!"

"How many have you taken out so far?"

The ground exploded next to them, sending them off to the left. Rin went tumbling, face smacking the dirt. She finally stopped, and sat up just in time to see a cloud shinobi attacking her. Rin dodged, and dizzily stumbled on her feet. In front of her was a sand shinobi, behind her the cloud, and now a mist to her right. Unsure where to go, Rin prepared herself for a barrier. Before it could materialize, Spiral appeared from the ground directly in front of Rin. Rin hopped onto his back and he took off.

"Why is there ninja from different lands?" Rin asked as Spiral galloped farther from the enemy.

"The lands have created an alliance against us."

"An alliance?!" Rin was shocked, "So _everyone_ disagrees with us?!"

"Yea, but don't worry," Spiral assured her, "Everyone combined are still nothing against Obito and Madara."

"This is all so confusing."

"Well you should have just stayed home." Spiral nagged. A kunai shot at them but Spiral had them dodging it and escaping still, "We could be home relaxing, playing a game, but instead I'm dodging knives and carrying some heavy cargo to my master."

"'Heavy'?!" Rin growled.

"Well, no one asked you to have that second helping at breakfast today."

"What?! Why, you!"

Spiral stopped, scouting the area as Rin went on bickering about the heavy comment. He knew if he was going to make this decision, now was the time to do it. Spiral set her down and faced her.

"...and the bloating makes me look heavier than I really am." She was continuing.

"Rin."

"And though it ended a couple days ago it's taking some time for the bloating to go down."

"Rin."

"All this gear I'm carrying is making me heavier as well."

Spiral sighed, then unwound his entire body starting at the hole in his face. The swirls separated and became snake-like, moving in small waves in front of her. Rin screamed at the sight of it.

"Relax-" He told her.

"Pull yourself together!" She screamed, watching the individual swirls dance.

Her screaming alerted the enemy. "I'm going to wrap around you now!" Spiral said, sensing the shinobi heading to them again.

"WHAT?!"

"If I wrap my body around yours I can protect you, and contol you so you can fight." He moved a swirl towards her, getting close to her face.

Rin slapped it away, "Get that away from me!"

The enemy was getting closer. "Rin!" Spiral said, "We're going to be entering the actual battlefield now, it's too dangerous for you to just walk around like that."

"And how do I know you won't just take me back home?"

"You're just going to have to trust me!"

Rin could hear ninja approaching. "Okay!" she agreed and quickly took off her purple cloak. Spiral's swirls wrapped around her, starting at her feet, up her entire body, and enclosing around her head. She could only see out of her right eye as he covered everything else. Spiral picked up the cloak and ran off to safety.

"I feel so short!" He whined, having adjusted to Rin's height to fit her better.

"I feel so blind in one eye!" Rin complained back.

Spiral put the cloak on.

"Okay, rules." He said and continued running.

"Rules?"

"Rule one, stay inside me the whole time!"

"No way!" Rin replied.

"Where we are going is extremely dangerous!"

"I can't stay like this the whole time!"

"My body is protecting your little frail body-"

"'Frail'?!"

"We've got company!" Spiral suddenly turned around, facing the fast approaching enemy.

A sand shinobi, with a jagged greatsword, dashed at them. Rin's eyes widened as she watched the blade barely miss her again and again. No matter how close it got though, she dodged, no, Spiral dodged for her. It was amazing for Rin to feel her body moving with no control of it. She dodged, she was up, she was down, and soon she was landing a hard kick in the enemy's face. She flipped backwards, landing perfectly on her feet. The enemy disappeared in a cloud of smoke; a shadow clone, and the real one tried grabbing her ankle from underground. Spiral was one step ahead, jumping into the air as the large hand dug free from the sand. They landed yards away, and the man stood out from the ground, sand pouring off him.

"You're amazing, Spiral!" Rin said, still feeling the highs of his speed as if her own.

The sand shinobi drew his large greatsword out in front of him, gripping it with both hands. Spiral let his right hand open, and a sharp branch formed into his hand. The point of the branch thinned sharper until they held a 5 foot spear. Rin's heart raced as she knew they would attack head-on.

Rin felt her feet dashing to the enemy.

_It's_ _okay_! Rin thought, _Spiral's_ _got_ _this_!

The shinobi raised his greatsword over his head.

_Don't_ _be_ _scared_! She told herself as they got closer, but her heart pumped fear into her with each step.

They reached him, and the large sword came swinging down at them. Rin felt her right foot cross behind her, spinning her quickly as she dodged the blade and kept turning until she was behind the enemy. His sword was stuck in the ground.

_Now_! she thought, but Spiral was already on it. He lounged his spear forward and the branch pierced through the ninja's back, into his heart, and out of his chest.

"We did it!" Rin cheered as her adrenaline calmed down.

"We?" He asked.

They continued to Obito, and night was beginning. The moon was large tonight, Rin couldn't see it past the trees, but could tell by how well it lit up their surroundings. The ground was trembling almost an hour ago, but now they felt waves of it shaking harder under them. Rin asked again what it was, and Spiral said he thought it was Obito fighting. Rin thought of the Obito she grew up with. Crying over little things, considered weak by his other clan members. He was clumsy, and messed up practically everything he did. He was injured during every mission, even the easy ones. He acted so tough, but he wasn't. He was kind and soft, his only desire for strength being to protect Rin. And now here he was, fighting tailed beasts, and leading a war. What happened to him? Rin wondered what turned him into the man he was now. How he went from a kind laughable boy, to a man who's strength was so feared it caused 5 nations who hated one another to join together in alliance against him.

Spiral suddenly stopped on a tree branch, overlooking the main battle far off in front of them. The ground shook violently; had Rin been alone she probably would have fallen, but Spiral had them securely anchored onto the tree.

"I can hardly see." She said.

Spiral unwrapped the part of him around her head, and formed it into a hood resting ontop of her head.

"Thank you," Rin told him, and focused on the battle. She could see hundreds, maybe thousands of the alliance together. She couldn't see Obito, but Spiral told her he was somewhere in there. Rin stared at the large army in fear. She was their enemy, and even if Spiral was wrapped around her, she began to question her safety. Spiral could sense her fear.

"Don't worry, Rin." Spiral told her, "I'll protect you with my life."


End file.
